Kindred Spirits
by MiravsStella
Summary: After finding herself in Domino City, Japan, Jess had nowhere to go but a tournament with her new friend Yugi. What she discovers about herself there changes her life forever. Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
1. Chapter 1: One Day Changes All

Anyone walking down a certain street in Domino City, Japan would've seen her.

But she was beyond caring. So what if people saw her on her knees, in an alleyway, sobbing? She didn't understand what had happened; only that she was now somewhere far, far away from home.

It had happened after school. She was walking along, simply enjoying the afternoon. The crisp, cool air, the sun on her face- to her, that was bliss.

Until the wind picked up.

She hadn't noticed at first, but soon it began blowing fiercely around her. Everything went dark, all she could hear was roaring, and then she was here.

In a city she didn't recognize.

The thing that astounded her most, however, was her appearance.

Before, she had had blond curls that hit her shoulders but didn't go past them. Her eyes had been a warm, chocolate brown, and she'd been freckly on the nose.

When she'd seen her reflection in a puddle, however, it had made her stop and examine herself again. Now, though her hair was still short, it was dark brown, almost black, and perfectly straight. Her freckles were gone- her face didn't have any blemishes, in fact. One might think that a girl her age would be happy about that, but she realized that they were a part of who she was.

She didn't want to lose that.

Her eyes were no longer brown; instead, they were a bright, clear turquoise, and somehow deeper than before. The strangest thing, however, was the symbol on her forehead. It looked like an eye, but was a little too symmetrical. It was gold, and metallic-looking. Slowly, she reached up and touched the eye, gasping when she realized that it was metal.

_Great_, she thought. _That's going to be pretty darn bad for my health_.

Fully aware of her surroundings for the first time, she forced down her tears, realizing that she had to find shelter. Before she did, however, she noticed one more thing. Her pocket was heavy.

She pulled out her duel deck, and blinked. _I'm sure that I didn't put that in there_, she thought. Shrugging, she re-pocketed it, and ran off.

* * *

Yugi and his friends sat, beneath their favorite tree. It was Saturday, and rather than stay inside on a day like this, they decided to head for the park. Jonouchi was still rambling on about how Yugi had beaten 'that rich punk'- in other words, Seto Kaiba.

"I mean, it was amazing, Yug," said Jonouchi, still grinning, "How you kicked his keister and all."

Yugi smiled, slightly embarrassed at his friend's praise. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you guys there. Not to mention my grandpa's deck helping out."

Anzu looked thoughtful. "You know, Yugi, maybe you should consider entering a tournament."

"Yeah, great idea!" Jonouchi exclaimed. He wrapped his arm around Yugi's neck, giving him a noogie. "We've got a champ, right here!"

Honda snorted. "Maybe, Jonouchi, but he still has a long way to go."

Jonouchi frowned at his friend. "Naw, Yug'll beat them all, you'll see."

"That's reassuring, cause you sure won't."

Jonouchi rounded on Honda. "What was that?"

"Relax, guys," said Yugi, sweatdropping. "I'm probably not going to enter a tournament anytime soon anyhow."

They continued the discussion, Honda and Jonouchi trying to convince Yugi to duel more often, while Anzu just rolled her eyes. Eventually, however, their conversation was interrupted by yells further down.

Jonouchi paused. "Eh? What's going on?"

"I don't know," Yugi, answered, looking worried. "I think we should check, though."

The four of them hurried over to where a large crowd was gathered. Shouts rang out, all directed at someone standing in the center.

"What's with the thing on your forehead, huh?"

"Yeah, do you come from somewhere that gives metal tattoos, freak?"

A single voice, female, rang through, loud and clear. "If I'm a freak, what does that make all of you?"

The yelling increased at this remark, and the crowd looked even angrier. Jonouchi and Honda pushed themselves through everyone, to find a girl about their age being harassed. She looked furious, her hands balled into fists that hung at her sides, shaking. Her unusual turquoise eyes burned, and her hair was slightly disheveled.

Jonouchi and Honda stood in front of her. "All right, clear outta here!" they yelled. There was no need, however; the teenagers in the crowd were losing interest, walking off in smaller groups, casting curious glances at the girl. As for the girl herself, she turned to Yugi and his friends.

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself."

She turned to go, but before she could walk a step further Honda grabbed her arm. "That's the thanks we get? You could at least tell us your name."

She whirled around, crossing her arms. Yugi couldn't keep the gasp from escaping him as he beheld the symbol on her forehead. He glanced down at his millennium puzzle. The girl, following his gaze, also saw his item. She pointed. "What is that?"

Yugi held it up. "It's my millennium puzzle," he answered. "It was a gift from my grandpa, who found it in Egypt. It took me years to solve."

Jonouchi gawked at the strange girl's forehead, until Anzu kicked him in the shins. Looking slightly awkward, he asked lamely, "So… do you duel?"

In answer, she took her deck out of her pocket. "My name's Jess," she said. Her eyes traveled over each of them. "What are your names?"

Joey grinned; he loved introductions. "This is Yugi, soon to be the duel monsters champ," he said. Yugi smiled kindly. "That's Anzu; she's got a bit of an attitude, so watch it."

In response to that, Anzu kicked him again. Wincing slightly, Joey continued. "That's Honda, the serious guy, and then of course there's myself! Jonouchi's the name."

Jess smiled. "It's nice to meet you all."

Yugi turned back to Jess. "We're heading to my grandpa's game shop to take a break. Would you like to come?"

Jess fidgeting slightly. "Umm… I guess so." Anzu smiled at her, trying to look reassuring. Jess returned the smile, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes.

* * *

She opted not to join in their conversation. Sure, they all seemed nice enough, but she had quickly learned not to trust anyone around Domino City. She was getting by so far, hiding out in an abandoned building for now. As for food, well… she'd never admit it, but she was scavenging.

Jess walked a few paces behind the others, wondering why dueling was so popular around here. Sure, back home they'd had the cards, but they didn't have holographic systems to portray the cards.

Her thoughts wandered back to home, and she didn't notice Yugi drop back to talk to her.

"So, you're a duelist? What kind of cards do you like?"

Jess shook herself. "Huh? Oh, uh, dragon. They're strong, beautiful, but gentle too."

Yugi grinned at her. "I'm a fan of… I guess, all kinds of cards. If I had to choose, though, I think I'd pick spellcaster."

Jess felt a pang, as she was reminded of her younger brother- who she might never see again. "Spellcasters are cool, too."

They continued discussing their favorite monsters, comparing weaknesses and strengths of various cards. Jess enjoyed speaking about a subject that took her mind off of home; she ached for her parents, her brother, all her friends, and her cat. Some of the sadness on her face must have shown, for Yugi looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you okay?"

Jess planted a smile on her face. "I'm fine."

"Yugi!" Jess glanced over in the direction of the voice, noticing the aged, slightly overweight man waving over at them. He looked cheerful, as thought sweeping in front of his shop didn't bother him in the slightest. Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi already waited, while Jess and Yugi caught up. Jess realized that he was Yugi's grandpa.

"Hey, grandpa," said Yugi. "Are you feeling better?"

"Never better!" the old man exclaimed. "My short duel with Kaiba was tiring, if nothing else. Knowing that you defeated him helped me back on my feet as well." His purple eyes- the same color as Yugi's, Jess noted- traveled over her. "Is this a new friend of yours?"

Jess stepped forward. "I'm Jess," she said.

"I asked her to come too," Yugi added.

His grandpa beamed. "Well then, Jess, welcome to my game shop! Do feel free to look around."

The four of them entered, heading upstairs to where Yugi lived with his grandpa. Jess liked the feel of it; it was cozy, but not in an embarrassing way.

"So, Jess," said Yugi, grinning. "How about a duel?"

Jess grinned back. She didn't have anything better to do, after all.

A few hours later, it was nearly dark outside. Jess had spent the entire afternoon dueling. Her match against Yugi had gone on for awhile, until Jonouchi had interrupted. He'd stated that he wanted a shot against her, claiming that he'd beat her in five minutes. Four duels later, he lost again.

"I don't believe this!" he shouted, pouting slightly. Jess yawned; dueling Jonouchi had been almost boring for her; she felt ready to take a nap.

"Hey, guys, look!" called Yugi, staring at the television. "The regional final match is about to start."

Jess only watched to get the names of the duelists, as well as their card preferences, before tuning out. She thought about what she'd be doing today if she hadn't come to this crazy place. She'd be having dinner with her family about then…

"…And that concludes today's match! The winner is Mr. Weevil Underwood! And now, please give it up for the Maximillion Pegasus, who will be giving Mr. Underwood today's trophy!"

Jess watched, noting when a man in a crisp red suit stepped out into the stadium. He handed the trophy to the winner- a short kid with an odd haircut and glasses that made him look like he had bug eyes. Pegasus turned to the crowd.

"Duelists from all over will be given this special invitation to duel in my Duelist Kingdom tournament. The boat leaves in just two days, so don't be late!"

Jess was slightly revolted by his attitude. She had come to dislike people who thought everything was fun. _Nothing's really fun_, she thought bitterly, thinking of all the good times she'd spent with her friends back at home. All that had been snatched away from her. She glanced around at Yugi's friends. _How can I ever be a part of their group? That mob from earlier was right; I'm a freak_.

A sigh escaped her. She reached up and, out of habit, touched the symbol embedded in her forehead. She wished she could tear it out and just be normal.

Then there was the fact that the same symbol was on Yugi's puzzle. She wondered if that was really a coincidence, or if more was at work here.

Just then, Yugi's grandpa entered the room. "Yugi! There's a package for you."

Everyone turned to see what could've shown up. In Mr. Mutou's (Jess had learned Yugi's last name from Anzu earlier) hands was a plain brown box. "It says that it's from Industrial Illusions."

That got everyone's attention; Jess was curious now. She wondered what the company could've sent to Yugi.

Yugi brought it over, and Jonouchi began tearing into it at once. He frowned when he saw what was inside. "Eh? What's the use of all this stuff?" he asked.

Inside the box was a magenta glove, and two tiny stars. Jess wondered what their purpose was, and then she noticed the tape. She pointed it out. "Maybe that'll explain."

Yugi nodded. "Good idea." He headed to the VCR, pushed the tape inside, and waited.

Popping up on the TV screen was none other than Pegasus himself. "Oh, joy," Jess muttered. Jonouchi gave her an odd look.

"What'd you say, Jess?"

"Nothing."

Pegasus was speaking. "Greetings, Yugi-boy. It's wonderful to make your acquaintance. Before I explain, however, there's a tiny bit of business to be taken care of."

He lifted the hair covering his left eye (Jess's right), and Jess caught a glimpse of gold before everything went black.

* * *

It was like surfacing from deep water; Jess struggled awake, opening her eyes to see- more blackness?

She sat up, groaning, and flinched; Pegasus's gaze was trained on her.

"Consider yourself honored, Jess-girl." He smiled unpleasantly. "You get to witness me crush Yugi-boy in his first Shadow Game."

Jess felt her eyes widen slightly as she saw Yugi, crouched down with his brow furrowed in concentration. He held a few of his cards in his hands, and a mini Summoned Skull sat in defense mode. Jess glanced around, seeing nothing but darkness around them.

"I must say, the fact that you have that particular symbol on your forehead intrigues me," Pegasus continued. Jess turned to glare at him, but he didn't so much as flinch. "I was just telling Yugi-boy that we have something in common: a millennium item. You already know of his puzzle. I possess the millennium eye, which gives me the power to read minds."

Jess made an attempt to blank out her mind, to not think at all…

"Nice try, Jess-girl. I already know all about you, and there's quite a bit you haven't told Yugi-boy, isn't there?"

Yugi glanced at her, looking shocked. "Jess, what?"-

"Oh, it's nothing too important," Pegasus drawled. "Just that she's not from this world, she used to have a different appearance, and that she's homeless. That's all."

Jess shook with both anger and sadness. Yugi's violet eyes bored into her. "Jess," he said quietly, "Is that all… true?"

Turning her head so that their eyes met, she nodded.

"On with the duel!" Pegasus proclaimed. The smile widened, and Jess had to stifle the urge to try and slap it off his face. "Oh, too bad; it looks like we've run out of time. The time it took to explain things to Jess-girl just made the minutes fly by. Oh, well.

"The glove and the star chips are both needed to get on the ferry to Duelist Kingdom. Oh, and Jess-girl? I'll be sending you an invite as well. I wouldn't want you to feel left out."

Jess's voice was hardened. She felt her dislike of Pegasus growing. "And what if I'm not interested?"

"Believe me; it's in both of your best interests to go. Jess, you do want to know why you acquired that symbol, don't you?"

Jess decided not to reply; she didn't want Pegasus to know that she was intrigued. She slapped her forehead, groaning when she remembered that Pegasus could see her thoughts.

"Yugi-boy," Pegasus said; his voice suddenly became more menacing. "I'll be claiming my prize now: say goodbye to your grandfather's soul!"

He lifted his hair once again, and a yellow beam hit Mr. Mutou. Something must've been pulled from him, for a moment later, his face appeared on the TV screen. He called his grandson's name once, before vanishing.

"Grandpa!" Yugi yelled, shaking the TV. "Come back!"

Jess felt frozen, horrified by what she had just seen. She knew that Yugi would have to duel in the tournament now. She also knew that if he was dueling, she'd be dueling alongside him.

_And you will succeed_.

Jess jumped, looking about her, but no one else seemed to have heard it. She glanced to where Yugi's friends were gathered around him, before sinking into her own thoughts.

She was shocked at what she found there.


	2. Chapter 2: On the Way

Jess could only watch while Yugi's friends did their best to cheer their pal up. Nothing seemed to work, however; he sat dejectedly on the couch, staring down at the Duel Monsters deck in his hands. Jess tried to think of something to say, but any words got caught in her throat. How did you cheer up someone who had just had his grandpa's soul taken?

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she thought of something she could say.

"Yugi…" Yugi turned to stare with his sad, violet eyes. "I know you've lost someone close to you, but you can't let that get you down for long. You can get him back- you have to believe that!"

Huh. Here she was, encouraging someone who'd only lost one family member. She'd lost so many… but then, maybe that was why she was trying to help him. Because she could relate to how he felt.

Jess offered a smile. "If you'd like… I can go to this tournament with you. I can help." _It's the least I can do for hiding so much about myself_, she added silently.

She relaxed when she saw some hope begin to kindle in his eyes again. "You will?"

"Course I will."

"Yeah!" yelled Jonouchi, causing everyone in the room to jump. "We've all got your back, Yug!"

Yugi smiled. "Thanks, everyone. I just hope I'm able to get there."

Jess pondered those words, before stating, "If you're determined enough, you'll make it through." She stood, realizing that she couldn't stay there all day. The paramedics had already picked up Mr. Mutou, and it was time she followed suit.

Yugi noticed her heading for the door. "Jess? Where are you going?" he asked, sounding concerned. Jess paused at the door, before turning back to him, a forced smile on her face.

"I should probably be going. It's getting late."

Yugi frowned, and Jess remembered that he knew about her secrets now. "Pegasus said you were homeless, didn't he?"

Honda's eyebrows shot up, and Jonouchi said, "Say what?"

Reluctantly, Jess nodded. She wasn't usually one to admit any such thing, but she felt compelled to be truthful. If there was one thing Jess hated, it was lying.

"You can stay here, Jess," Yugi said. He looked perfectly serious. "I'm pretty sure that we have room down in the basement. There should be an air mattress down there too."

Jess didn't want to accept, but she couldn't deny that she felt hopeful at the prospect. "Are… are you sure?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. Yugi nodded.

Her face broke into the first true smile she'd shown. "Thanks a lot Yugi."

"Huh," said Jonouchi, looking at her with new eyes. "You don't really look homeless." Anzu kicked him- again.

Scowling at the blond, Jess said, "I've only been homeless for a week, smart one."

Jonouchi's eyebrows went up. "I'm smart?"

"It's called sarcasm."

He just glowered at her.

Brightly, Anzu said to Yugi, "Well, we should head home now. I know that my parents are probably worried."

"Yeah, us too," said Jonouchi and Honda at the same time.

Jess watched as Yugi said goodbye to his friends, before plopping back down on the couch. She noticed that there were circles under his eyes, and realized how wearing the day had been for him.

"So, you're from another world," he said. It wasn't a question. "What's it like there?"

Jess thought about it for a moment. She decided not to let any sadness she felt regarding the subject affect her. "Well, it's pretty much the same as it is here. The technology's the same, the culture… we even have Duel Monsters cards. They're just not quite as popular, and we don't have holographic projectors for them."

Her bright and cheerful tone didn't seem to fool him. Softly, he asked, "Did you have any family there?"

She nodded. "A mom, a dad, a brother… too many cousins, altogether." Yugi laughed at that. "I had a cat, too. Her name was Dawn. Her favorite thing to do was nip people's ankles as they went upstairs…" her voice trailed off for a moment, but she pressed on. She didn't care that it hurt to talk about it. "My brother was 13; I'm 15. I was just walking home from school one day, when… everything went crazy. Next thing I knew, I was in an alleyway in the pouring rain."

Yugi didn't press any more questions about her home; instead, he turned the subject to dueling. "Which card is your favorite?"

Jess smiled, taking out her deck and filing through it before she sighted the card she loved. Sliding it out, she showed it to him, feeling proud of it. "It's Hyozanryu," she said. "I've always been kind of… drawn to this card. The dragon's beautiful, proud, and yet wise as well."

Yugi returned the smile. "Mine's the Dark Magician," he said, holding up the card in question. As Jess examined the picture, she couldn't help but feel… as though there was some kind of special connection between the card and the owner. It was like the connection she had with Hyozanryu; sometimes, she could swear she sensed the dragon guiding her.

The discussion continued, the two talking animatedly, both trying to keep the worries out of their heads. After a while, when Jess could tell that Yugi could barely keep his eyes open, she suggested they crashed for the night.

"Do you need any help setting up the air mattress?" Yugi asked. Jess shook her head, certain that she could manage it herself. Besides, Yugi looked like he could fall asleep right then and there. Jess, on the other hand, knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. She was slightly nervous about the tournament, and lacked confidence.

_Oh well_, she thought. Confidence could just go down the drain. She would try her hardest, and wasn't about to let anyone stand in her way.

* * *

"Wow," she murmured, her eyebrows shooting up at the sight of the ship that would carry them to Duelist Kingdom. "Pegasus certainly didn't waste any time on expense, did he?"

"That's for sure," Yugi agreed. They both stared at the long line of aspiring duelists waiting to board. The sun had set over an hour ago, and the light came from the streetlamps lining the dock. Jess turned to Yugi, shivering slightly. "You know, this whole tournament is pretty serious for you and me, but I can't help but feel a bit excited."

Yugi smiled. "I know what you mean, Jess," he responded.

Their conversation was interrupted by two rough, male voices speaking nearby, followed by another voice they knew all too well.

"Hey, lemme go, I'm in the tournament!"

"Sorry, kid, but you don't have any star chips. You can't get on this boat without them!"

Jess and Yugi turned in unison to catch sight of Jonouchi being dragged away by two men. They ran over, Yugi shouting, "He's got a star chip!"

With those words, Jess watched as Yugi handed his friend one of his own. The two guards lifted their eyebrows in surprise, before one chuckled and said, "If you want to lose your star chip just to get him to come, be my guest." With that, the two of them headed back over to the boarding ramp.

Jess was surprised by this action as well. She stared at Yugi. "That's a bit risky, isn't it?"

Yugi stared back defiantly. "Jonouchi's my friend," he stated. "I won't leave him behind."

Jonouchi gawked at the star chip in his hand for a moment, before giving Yugi a bear hug and saying, "Thanks, Yug, you're a real pal!" He grinned, walking on Yugi's other side as the three of them approached the boat. Jess looked down at her own duel glove, where two star chips were embedded inside. _I guess we need ten_, she thought, _but why?_

Their star chips allowed them to board, and Jess found herself among at least a hundred other duelists. All were chatting excitedly about being chosen by Pegasus for their skills. Jess reflected glumly that she'd been chosen for a very different reason. That reason was what caused many people to stop talking and stare at her. She quickly grew uncomfortable with the stares, and wandered over to one of the side rails, looking out over the ocean as the boat departed Domino City.

Yugi joined her moments later. Jonouchi was still back in the crowd, taking the advice Yugi had given him earlier and making trades in order to improve his deck. Jess didn't like trading all that much; she loved every one of her cards, and would take at least hours to think about trading one.

"Hey!" Jess tilted her head to see a woman with long blond hair stride up to them. She actually looked like she could be in high school, but seemed a little older. She frowned slightly, staring at the two of them. "Aren't you Yugi Mutou, the kid who beat Kaiba?"

Yugi, looking slightly embarrassed, nodded. The woman winked at him. "The name's Mai. Mai Valentine." Jess felt instantly annoyed, for some reason she couldn't identify.

"Yug! Check out these cards I got"- Jonouchi stopped talking and stared at Mai. Mai noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"Yugi, if this is a friend of yours, I'd say drop him. The girl too. That thing on your forehead doesn't do much for looks, hon." With that, she strode away, leaving both Jess and Jonouchi fuming.

_Who does she think she is?_ Jess thought. She really detested people who thought they were above everyone else. She took a few measured breaths to calm herself, before speaking to Yugi and Jonouchi. "Shall we find wherever we're staying?" she asked.

Yugi nodded, and Jonouchi followed them, grumbling. Jess thought she caught him muttering something about getting no respect. Her anger was soon replaced by wariness; Mai wouldn't be here if she wasn't a good duelist, which meant that Jess would have to be careful.

They discovered that they just got bunks, which Jonouchi was disappointed in. "Honestly, I thought this was a luxury cruise!"

"Sorry, dweebs. Only the best duelists get the nicer rooms."

Jess turned and glared at the shrimpy Weevil Underwood. "You know, you're even uglier in real life than on television."

Weevil looked ready to puff up like one of his disgusting bugs and shout at her, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, the blue-haired duelist smirked and strode away, down the hall. Jess sighed; she was already making enemies, and they hadn't even started dueling yet.

"Well, I'm not tired yet; I'm heading for the upper decks. I like being outside," she said.

"I'll come with you," Yugi offered.

"Well, I'm staying here; gotta improve my deck some more!" said Jonouchi, grinning. "I'll catch up with you in a little while."

Jess took out her deck again, flipping through it and memorizing as much as she could. She was going to need to be prepared, if she wanted to make it through this tournament. She stopped at Hyozanryu, smiling at the diamond dragon and imagining it smiling back at her. She went through several more of her cards, noting some of the ones that were likely to be received with shock. In her world, since Duel Monsters wasn't as popular, cards that were rare here were common there. She put her Blue Eyes White Dragon, her Sphinx Teleia, and her Kaiser Sea Horse on that list.

Yugi was doing the same thing, a determined look on his face. She found herself wondering if she would ever have to duel him in that tournament. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

A cough behind her distracted her. Looking up, she noticed bug boy once again.

"What do you want?" she asked, not trusting the kid.

He ignored her, walking towards Yugi. Yugi looked up, a questioning look on his face.

"So," Weevil began, "I heard that you defeated the great Seto Kaiba. I also heard that you used Exodia to beat him."

Jess's eyes widened. Exodia! Now those cards were rare, even in her world. She stared at Yugi again, wondering where he could have possibly gotten them.

Yugi nodded and smiled. "Yep. That's how I defeated him."

Jess thought she saw a look of greed on Weevil's face before he said, sounding innocently excited, "May I see those incredible cards?"

Instantly, an overwhelming feeling of mistrust overcame her. She looked at Weevil, and knew, inexplicably, that he was lying in some way. The words burst out of her mouth before she could stop them: "Don't do it, Yugi!"

Both Yugi and Weevil turned to stare at her. Yugi looked confused. "What harm could it be, Jess?" he asked.

Weevil kept a straight face as he said, "I only want to hold them."

Jess was unconvinced. She knew Weevil was lying, and wanted to slap him, but it was Yugi's choice. She watched, mentally crossing her fingers that Yugi would refuse. But Yugi shrugged. "I don't see why not."

_No!_ Jess watched in horror, as Weevil took the five cards. The greed in his eyes flared, and Jess had a feeling that his intentions could not be good. He walked to the railing slowly, as if he were in a trance.

"The five pieces of Exodia," he murmured. Jonouchi entered the area, casting a questioning look at Yugi before walking to stand beside him. Jess stayed close behind Weevil, not letting her eyes leave him.

"These cards…" Weevil murmured, staring at them. "Some of the most dangerous cards in the world. And now… they will never be used against me."

Jess knew what he would do an instant before he did. Yugi ran up beside her, suddenly aware.

"Say goodbye to Exodia!" cackled Weevil, tossing the cards over the railing, while Yugi shouted, "NO!"

"I'll get them, Yug!" Jonouchi shouted, diving off the boat before any of them could object. "Jonouchi!" shouted Jess, staring while her friend's blond head bobbed in the water below.

Yugi dove off the boat after him, and Jess had to admit that Yugi was incredibly loyal to his friends.

"Hey!" came a shout further down the boat. Jess turned in surprise to see Honda and Anzu waving Yugi over to a ladder. She ran towards them to help. They got both Yugi and Jonouchi back onto the ship, while Jess ran to ask for a few towels. She returned to find Anzu lecturing Jonouchi.

"…and next time you want to be an idiot, just be more careful!" she finished. Jonouchi didn't respond to that statement; he just looked glum.

"Sorry, Yug," he said, turning to the spiky-haired teen. "I could only save two of them." He held out the battered and soaked cards. "I failed again. Just like I failed my sister… Shizuka."

Yugi frowned at him, and Jess said, "Your sister?"

Jonouchi nodded miserably. "That's why I came. I have to win this, for the prize money. Shizuka's always had bad eyesight, but it's getting worse. If she doesn't get eye surgery, she'll go blind, but the surgery's really expensive…"

Jess realized, then, why Jonouchi had been so determined earlier. She thought of her brother, whose eyesight was also not the best. She knew that she would definitely go that far to help her sibling. A vivid image of her younger brother appeared, his blue eyes alight with happiness, a laugh escaping him. She choked on her tears, but no one noticed.

She turned to Jonouchi. It wasn't just Yugi she wanted to help now, she realized.

"I'm with you all the way, Jonouchi," she stated. He grinned up at her.

"Thanks, Jess."

After making sure that Yugi and Jonouchi were sufficiently dry, they headed to bed. Jess, Jonouchi and Yugi would need all their strength to get through the upcoming duels the next day. Jess didn't remember when, exactly, she'd fallen asleep, but the next thing she knew Yugi was shaking her gently.

"We're here," he said, sounding cheerful and yet… determined at the same time. Jess yawned and stretched, climbing out of her bunk. Most of the other duelists were already awake, and those that weren't were being awoken by friends. Jess followed Yugi out to the deck, where the others waited.

The island that held Duelist Kingdom was up ahead, and Jonouchi punched the air.

"Yeah-hah!" he shouted. "Look out, world!" Jess sweatdropped at the sight, knowing that Jonouchi still had a long time to go before he could compete with some of the duelists who had been invited.

She stared, as the sun rose on their right. It blazed across the sea, lighting up the island and the boat they were on. She felt a new surge of determination, augmented by the rising sun.

_I will get through this_, she thought. _I have to_. Her friends were depending on her, and she wanted answers.

_The question is, will we get them?_

She sighed. I don't know, but Pegasus seemed like he knew something.

_I can duel for you, if you want._

No. I don't want the others to know about you. It could put you in danger.

_Danger that I am willing to risk_.

Jess shook her head firmly. She would get through this without help. She could do it… she knew she could.


	3. Chapter 3: Unadmirable Opponents

"Just try not to look suspicious, Honda," said Anzu, rolling her eyes.

Jess snorted. She could imagine Honda biting his nails at that moment. She thought that if someone yelled, "Boo!" at him, he'd jump in the ocean from fright.

The five of them disembarked; behind her, Jess could hear Honda muttering, "Act normal, act cool…" She could picture him, walking stiffly and oddly, and knew he looked anything but normal.

"Hey!" one of the security guards yelled, making them all freeze. They stared at Honda. "No need to be nervous, kid; just try your best and you'll do fine."

"Uhh… umm… yes sir!" stammered Honda, saluting. Jess rolled her eyes.

As soon as they were far enough away from security, Anzu turned around and delivered one of her now-common kicks to the shins. Honda winced, while Anzu growled, "You call that not being suspicious?"

"Calm down, guys," said Yugi, sweatdropping at the sight. Jonouchi wasn't even paying attention to the exchange, looking around nervously at the many duelists. Jess went over to him.

"You alright, Jonouchi?" she asked quietly.

Jonouchi jumped; he hadn't seen her coming.

"Yeah, I guess… I'm just wondering if I'll even be able to make it past my first duel," he admitted. He smiled slightly. "Yugi gave me Time Wizard earlier, but even with a card that cool, I dunno if I can do it."

Jess placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you can." An idea suddenly occurred to her, and she pulled out her deck. Searching through it, she found the card she'd been looking for.

"Here," she said, handing it to him. "Please don't take this lightly; I don't like losing any one of my cards."

Jonouchi read the print at the top. "Let's see… Gravekeeper's Curse?"

Jess winked at him. "It packs a nasty little surprise when you summon it." Jonouchi read the description, a smile growing on his face. He gave her a thumbs up and pocketed it.

"Thanks, Jess. I'll use it well."

_Wow_, Jess thought, _He can actually be sincere._ Yugi, Honda, and Anzu began following the path up to the castle, in the general direction that all the duelists were heading. Jess and Jonouchi followed them, walking quickly to catch up. Honda and Anzu were still bickering, but this time Jess paid no attention and just kept walking.

Soon, a castle of some sort appeared in the distance. Jess was bored by the sight, while gasps of amazement rang around her. She wondered how much more overdramatic Pegasus could get.

When he appeared on the balcony to speak, her question was answered.

"Welcome, duelists all around," he drawled. "Welcome to my Duelist Kingdom tournament, which will determine who gets the title 'King of Games'.

"Some of you are here for your talents, others here for their superior deck building, and others are here for entirely different reasons." Jess noticed his eyes travel to where Yugi stood, and then saw them move until their eyes met. She gave him her best scowl, but he didn't seem the least bit intimidated. He eyes left her, and he continued to address the competitors.

"Each one of you has received a dueling glove, along with two star chips. You need ten star chips in order to get into the castle, and therefore, the finals."

Ten star chips! Jess gulped; it seemed like a tall order.

"You may wager these star chips in duels. There are arenas all over this island, concealed by my technology. Thanks to the scenic setting on this island, there are some… unusual rules involved in this tournament, but that's for me to know and you to find out."

"Now, let the game begin!"

Every duelist, excluding Jess and Yugi, cheered with enthusiasm. Jess stared enviously at the many excited teens, wishing she could just be here for fun. _Well, I suppose I could still have fun…_

"So… where do we start?" asked Jonouchi. He looked around sheepishly, noting that everyone was hurrying away to find arenas to duel on.

"I'm going to find Weevil," said Yugi firmly. Jess looked at him in surprise. She hadn't known that Yugi was the more vengeful type; that was more of her thing.

Jonouchi scowled at the mention of bug boy's name. "Yeah, that freak deserves a butt-kicking."

Jess coughed, lightly. Yugi looked over at her, and she smiled in embarrassment. "Sorry… I would watch you kick bug boy's butt, however…"

He nodded, understanding. "You've got duels of your own to win," he said. He raised his hand. "Good luck!"

Jess grinned, and slapped his hand in a high-five. She turned around, walking away from Yugi and his friends.

Who would her first opponent be? She looked around, but most duelists either ignored her or stared openly at her. She decided she'd let someone challenge her, if they wanted to.

She had a feeling it wouldn't be long; who wouldn't pass up the chance to be the one who defeated the freak with the symbol on her forehead? They'd be able to brag about it to their friends afterwards, too.

Sure enough, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around slowly, folding her arms as she did so.

"May I help you?" she asked sarcastically. As she had suspected, the duelist before her was a goon, smirking with overconfidence. She knew that if she played her cards correctly, that confidence would be his undoing.

"How 'bout a duel, little freak?" he sneered. Jess placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him. She'd had enough of people calling her a freak. Now she was determined to beat this guy, whether he was a big guy or not.

"Fine," she answered, taking out her duel deck. "You can choose the place."

The oversized teen looked surprised at this, but then chuckled slightly. "You'll regret that, girl."

_I'm sure_, Jess thought, rolling her eyes. The buffoon didn't see it, though.

"Name's Crab," he said. Jess's immediate thought was that it suited him, somehow or other. His gray eyes wandered over to a dark patch of forest nearby. He pointed towards it.

"That'll do," he said.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that there's even an arena there?"

He stiffened, whipping around to glare at her. Jess didn't move, realizing that she wasn't the least bit scared of him. It was clear to her that Crab was a bully, but she'd had bullies in her life before. She'd learned that most of them were all talk. Most of them.

She'd fit Crab into the category of 'most of them'.

As soon as Crab pointed to the area, there was a low rumble. Jess watched, in shock, as a duel arena began to slowly rise out of the ground. One side was red, the other blue, and the entire thing was huge.

Crab swaggered confidently to the red side; Jess shrugged and headed for the blue side. She kept her eyes fixed ahead of her as platform rose up, until she stood above the playing field.

Across the arena, Crab smirked at her. "You ready?" he called. Jess returned his smirk.

"Let's duel!" they both shouted.

The life point counter on the side rose to 2000. Jess and Crab drew five cards. For a moment Jess thought Crab sulked; he must not have received a good hand.

She smirked, looking down at her own cards. Her hand was always good, no matter what cards she drew.

"I'll go first!" Crab shouted. He leered at her, drawing a card.

"I summon Acrobat Monkey in defense mode!" he called, the robot monkey bouncing forth. It had 1800 defense points. "I end my turn."

"My draw!" Jess said, pulling a card from her deck. "I summon my Totem Dragon in attack mode!" The tiny little dragon popped up on the field, and Jess smiled. Crab was gaping, as though he was in disbelief that she'd summon such a weak monster on the first turn. "I set two cards face down and end my turn."

Crab showed her an evil grin, drawing a card. "I switch my acrobat monkey to attack mode. Attack her totem dragon!"

"Not so fast!" she shouted, making him freeze.

"Eh?" he said, frowning.

"I activate my trap! Shadow Spell!"

Chains appeared from nowhere, wrapping around the monkey in question and squeezing. Acrobat Monkey struggled for a moment, while its attack was decreased from 1000 to 300.

"I place one card face down, and end my turn," Crab hissed. He looked furious.

"Thank you," she said. "Now I summon Abare Ushioni!" The red bull reared, its third eye opening to scrutinize its opponent. Crab squirmed uncomfortably from the monster's glare.

"Oh, but wait," said Jess, smirking. "Abare Ushioni has an effect that you might be unaware of."

Crab looked slightly anxious. "And what would that be?"

A virtual coin appeared on the arena. "I call what the toss will be," Jess said. "If I get it wrong, I lose 1000 life points. If I get it right, however… you lose 1000 life points."

Crab's face tightened. "Go on then!" he snarled.

"I call… tails!" Jess said. The coin flew up, twirling over and over. Jess held her breath…

"Whoops," she said when it landed on heads. Her life points dropped to 1000. She, however, grinned at her opponent.

Crab seethe with anger. "I wouldn't look so happy!"

Jess grinned. "You're just not in my position Crab," she said sweetly. "First, my Abare Ushioni will attack your Acrobat Monkey." The metal primate shrieked as her bull rushed at it, but was cut off as soon as it was destroyed. Crab's life points fell to 1300. "Next, I activate the spell card White Dragon Ritual!"

This was one of her favorite combos. "Now, I'll sacrifice my Abare Ushioni!" The bull vanished, flowing in the sword that appeared with the activation of White Dragon Ritual. "Now, I summon my Paladin of White Dragon!"

The warrior appeared on the yellow eyed dragon's back, brandishing his sword. "I'm not done yet," she warned, making him flinch. "Paladin, attack him directly!"

Brandishing his sword, Paladin flew upon his dragon straight toward Crab. Crab, however, smirked. "I activate my trap! Mirror Force!"

Jess rolled her eyes. "You've forgotten my other face down, smart one. Reveal trap, Dust Tornado!" The whirlwind came forth, obliterating his trap. "Now finish it, Paladin!"

The warrior swooped in and cut right through Crab's life points, bringing them down to zero. He fell to his knees, but still glared venomously at Jess.

"You've got talent, freak," he hissed. The platforms lowered, and Jess stepped off, shocked by how easily she'd won. Then she shrugged.

_I wanted to win_, she thought to herself. _I was determined enough to beat this goon._

Unexpected praise came from the audience that had gathered. Several people now looked at her with admiration rather than simply curiosity. There were even congratulations from some.

"Wow, miss! Nice job!"

"And he was one of the best in street dueling!"

Jess's eyebrows lifted at that. _He_ had been one of the best?

"Well," came a gruff voice. She turned to see Crab behind her. He stared at her, hatred and contempt in his eyes. "You were good at dueling. But you'll always be a freak." Without another word, he handed her his two star chips, before slouching away. Jess looked down at the tiny gold stars in her hand. She placed them in her glove, thinking to herself that she had four now. Only six to go. Smiling with satisfaction, she strode off in the direction Yugi and his friends had taken, hoping to catch the end of his duel.

* * *

Maximillion Pegasus watched Jess's duel end, not at all surprised by the outcome. After all, Crab was rather weak-minded.

"Well done, Jess-girl," he chuckled. "I wonder what else you're hiding in that deck of yours? Oh wait- I already know."

His millennium eye glowed briefly.

* * *

Jess ran, panting, and ended up almost crashing into someone else.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the person exclaimed. They turned around, and Jess realized that it was Mai Valentine. Jess was not particularly pleased to see the older duelist; clearly, Mai felt likewise.

"Oh," she said coldly. "It's you."

"You were expecting someone else?" Jess replied coolly. She strode past Mai without waiting for an answer, noticing Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu standing nearby. She also noticed the giant duel arena above them.

Just then, Weevil shrieked, "Come out, Ultimate Great Moth!"

Jess watched, while some kind of cocoon pulsated in a disgusting way, before cracking to reveal a giant moth. Jess heard Mai say behind her, "It's all over for Yugi now."

Jess spun around, fueled by sudden anger. "Quit being pessimistic!" she snapped. "It isn't over until it's over! Yugi can still get out of this."

Upon hearing her yell, Jonouchi turned.

"Hey, Jess!" he called, grinning. "How was your duel?"

"I won," Jess said, turning away from Mai. Jonouchi grinned at her.

"Nice! So you've got… how many star chips?"

"Four."

Jess and Jonouchi rejoined Honda and Anzu. They greeted her, before turning back to Yugi's duel. Jess observed everything carefully, taking notes in her mind. This duel could teach her quite a bit. As she watched, she couldn't help but notice that Yugi seemed… different, somehow. More confident, more serious, and calmer, too.

She was fascinated by how quickly the cards were played. This match would've been a lot tougher for her than her other one. As the duel came to a close, it seemed there was nothing left for Yugi to do; he had one more turn to win.

"Summoned Skull!" he cried, the fiend on the field poised to attack. "Destroy his moth! Lightning strike!"

The skeletal creature obeyed his master, smashing the Ultimate Great Moth. Jess thought that it was brilliant strategizing on Yugi's part to use Makiu the Magical Mist in order to make Summoned Skull stronger. _Huh,_ she thought, _Those field power bonuses didn't occur during my duel. Maybe we just didn't use the correct cards for it._

Yugi stepped down from the duel arena, where his friends waited for him.

"That was amazing, Yugi!" both Jonouchi and Honda yelled.

"Great job!" said Anzu, smiling. Yugi was back to his usual, shy self, Jess noticed. She wondered why he'd been different before.

"Congrats, Yugi," Jess said.

"Thanks Jess," he replied. "Did you duel?"

In answer, she held up her glove, which contained four chips rather than two.

"That's great!" Yugi exclaimed.

Jonouchi forced her to give a play-by-play of her duel. When she finished, she could tell that her friends were impressed.

"Wow, Jess," Yugi said. "You barely let him make a move!"

Jess nodded thoughtfully. "I don't really have a specific strategy, so I basically just call my deck a counter-strategy deck."

"Yugi," came a hiss from behind them. Everyone turned to see Weevil, holding his star chips. The bug boy glared at his opponent. "Take your star chips!" he spat, throwing them at him. The shrimpy kid stalked away, pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.

"So," Yugi said, fitting the star chips into his glove, "Jess has four… I've got three, and Jonouchi has one."

Jonouchi pouted slightly.

"Guess I haveta duel soon, don't I?"

"Hey, don't worry Jonouchi." Jess, despite the encouraging words she gave him, did think he had to worry though. "You'll be fine."

Jonouchi gave her a shaky smile. _I hope he wins_, thought Jess. _I know what it's like to have a sibling that you love._

"Onward, then?" she said. Everyone else nodded.

"What're we waitin' for?" said Jonouchi. "Let's find some duels!"

Jess had to smile at his enthusiasm. She found that she was missing her family a little bit less. She could learn to live here; she could think of it as going to college early or something.

So, why do you think that Yugi was different earlier? she asked.

_I do not know. Perhaps we shall find out, in time. However… I don't think even Yugi's aware of how much he changes when dueling._

Would I change that much?

_I believe so… but in a different way. You tend to be fiery when dueling; if you changed, you'd be a lot calmer. Speaking of which…_

I already told you, absolutely not. I refuse to put you in danger. I dueled fine on my own today, all right?

_…Very well._

"Jess?" Jess shook herself, turning to Yugi. The others were already halfway up the path. "Are you coming?"

"Yep," she said, trotting to catch up with the rest of them. She wondered what the next duel would bring. This tournament had so many twists, and each was more surprising than the last. 


	4. Chapter 4: In the Shoes of Others

Jess scowled at Jonouchi, who was lying on the ground clutching his stomach. "You know, complaining about your hunger won't help Shizuka."

Jonouchi blinked at her several times, before his stomach gurgled again. "I gotta have food…" he moaned.

"We probably should've thought about this before we came here," Yugi admitted. Jess silently agreed with him; with all the excitement that occurred before the tournament began, none of them had really thought about what they'd do about feeding themselves once they arrived. Jess had thought that there would be some kind of… vendor around- but all they saw were other duelists, duel arenas, and wilderness.

"Hey, Jonouchi," said Anzu. "I see someone who'll take your mind off of hunger."

She pointed towards the nearest arena. Standing in front of it, laughing, was Mai Valentine.

"But you cheated! You must have!" shouted a kid with a stripy yellow shirt at her; Jess guessed that he had been Mai's opponent. "How could you know which cards they were which without looking?"

Mai turned and said something Jess couldn't hear. The boy scowled and handed over his two star chips. Mai turned away from him, almost in disgust, and spotted Yugi and his friends.

"Oh, Yugi!" she called, walking up to them, beaming. Instantly, she grabbed his wrist, examining his duel glove. Jess, once again, felt irritated at the sight. She could practically sense electricity shooting from Anzu.

"You have three star chips!" Mai exclaimed. "You know, I might be in the mood for another duel. Yugi looked faintly surprised.

Jess stepped forward. "I'd be happy to get rid of you," she growled. Mai snorted.

"I'm not dueling the girl with the thing on her forehead." Jess felt anger building inside her at that comment, and was about to make a snappy retort when Mai continued. "No, I'm choosing my opponent. And I choose…" her finger drifted around before fixing on someone. "You, Jonouchi."

Jonouchi's eyes widened. "Say what?" he asked, looking bewildered. "Why me?"

Mai looked amused by the blond's confusion. "I prefer to pick off the weaker ones first," she said smoothly.

"If you think"- Jess shouted, but Honda slapped a hand over her mouth.

"She's provoking you," he hissed. "Jonouchi too."

Jess nodded once, indicating that she was calming down. Honda released her, and she folded her arms, contenting herself with glaring at Mai.

_I doubt Mai would say that if she knew why Jonouchi was competing_, Jess thought. His reasons were not weakness. She knew that, despite the rather idiotic façade Jonouchi had most of the time, he could be a strong duelist.

Jonouchi fumed. "Oh, I'll duel you!" he yelled. "Get ready to lose!"

Mai smirked, looking confident. "All right, but you don't stand a chance, hon."

The two ascended the duel arena. Jonouchi's anger was quickly dissolving into nervousness. Jess felt a surge of determination to help the rookie duelist, and realized that it wasn't coming from herself.

Oh no you don't, she thought. You can't help him; I will.

_You know that you cannot hide my existence forever. They will find out one day._

That may be, but that day will not be today.

_All I want is to help! I dislike being stuck inside my own mind…_

Then look through my eyes. You can do that without actually taking control, can't you?

There was no answer.

Jess sighed, and turned back to the duel. She had a feeling that her friend was doing just as she had advised. In the back of her mind, she was aware that her secret would be revealed eventually, but her friend had helped her so much… she didn't want to put them in danger.

Things already were not going well for Jonouchi. Harpy Lady had already destroyed his first monster, and he was quickly losing his cool.

"She's trying to psyche you out!" yelled Tristan.

"Come on, Jonouchi!" cried Anzu.

Jonouchi gave them a shaky grin, but Jess could see in his brown eyes that he was under-confident. He drew a card. "My turn!"

He stared at the card for a moment, before grinning. "I summon Gravekeeper's Curse in defense mode!" he called, throwing down the card.

Jess grinned at him, giving him the thumbs up. He winked at her, before turning back to Mai, his face set with determination.

"Now, listen up! Cuz this thing has has an awesome special ability! It deals you 500 hundred points of damage when it's summoned."

Mai's eyes widened as the gravekeeper aimed his staff at her, blasting her. Her life points fell to 1500, only 90 points ahead of Jonouchi. Even with this victory, Jess could tell that it would difficult for Jonouchi to pull off a win.

Yugi looked thoughtful. "I don't remember seeing that card in Jonouchi's deck before," he commented, glancing at Jess. "Did you give it to him?"

"Yes," she answered. They quickly faced the duel once again, as Mai was humming with her strange… ability.

"Would you stop that?" shouted Jonouchi. Mai looked up and smirked over at him, her purple eyes taunting.

"Why on earth would I suppress my psychic powers?" she asked, pouting a little.

As soon as Mai said it, Jess instantly felt as though she'd been kicked in the stomach. She groaned, doubling over, as for the second time she had an overwhelming feeling that someone- specifically Mai- was lying.

All at once, she straightened. But it wasn't her who was doing the straightening. Against her will, her mouth opened, and she called out, "She's lying to you, Jonouchi!"

Jonouchi looked over at her blankly. "How do you know?"

"Trust your instincts, and you will find the truth." The words resonated through Jess's very core, as she realized the power behind those words. Her anger at her friend's foolhardy action dissolved, and she regained control of her body.

_I'm sorry; I couldn't stand to see Jonouchi lose._

I know, but be more careful.

Jess glanced around, hoping that no one noticed her sudden calmness. Only Yugi was looking at her strangely; no one else was paying attention, and Jonouchi had his eyes closed.

Jess knew that he was taking her advice, and she wished him luck. She turned to look at Mai, and made eye contact with her. Mai narrowed her eyes, before turning back to Jonouchi.

The blond's eyes snapped open, and he hopped up and down excitedly. "Ah-ha!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at his opponent. "You are a fake! I knew it all along! You sprayed all your cards with different perfumes; that's how you know which card is which."

Mai took a step back, shock showing clearly on her face. "Impossible!" she cried. "No one's ever been able to see through my psychic act before."

"First time for everything," called Jess, unable to keep the smirk of satisfaction off her face. She really couldn't stand Mai; she'd watched her frivolous answer to Jonouchi's question about why she dueled. Jess had a feeling that there was a deeper reason, instead of the shallow one that Mai had given.

Mai shot her a look; she seemed more annoyed than anything. Jess realized that Mai didn't hate her, or any of them for that matter. Her respect for the duelist rose slightly; maybe Mai wasn't so bad after all.

"Face it, Jonouchi," said Mai. "Even without my psychic act, you still can't defeat me. I have three harpies on the field, and they all have enough attack points to wipe you out."

Jonouchi grinned mischievously. "Not for long," he said. He closed his eyes, setting his hand on his deck. Jess concentrated with Jonouchi, willing him to draw the card he needed; she knew exactly which card that was.

Jonouchi pulled, and opened one brown eye. "Yes!" he shouted, throwing down the card onto the monster card zone. "I summon Time Wizard!"

Jess felt a surge of hope. "Go, Jonouchi!" she shouted, punching the air.

"Time roulette, activate!"

Jess waited with bated breath watching the arrow on Time Wizard's staff spin. It landed on the time machine symbol, and everything on the field began to spin. When it stopped, Jess saw that Baby Dragon was no longer a baby, and the Harpy Sisters were no longer young.

"Baby Dragon's aged into Thousand Dragon! Now attack her harpy sisters!" he called. The Harpy Ladies had been weakened by the time reversion, and the attack was enough to reduce Mai's life points to zero.

The two stepped off the dueling arena, Mai grudgingly handing over one of her star chips to Jonouchi. While the others crowded around Jonouchi to congratulate him, Jess stood next to Mai, watching. She side-glanced at the other duelist.

"You are a skilled duelist," she said quietly.

Mai snorted. "Of course I am." Jess was about to make a comment on being egotistical when Mai added, "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

Jess glanced at her. "Do you have friends?" she asked. It wasn't a spiteful question, or a sarcastic one.

Mai shook her head. "Friends make you weak," she said quietly. "They only give you trouble, in the end."

Jess stared at her. "Yeah, that's what I thought too. But a life without friends is no life at all."

She turned away from Mai, feeling the duelist's eyes on her as she headed over to congratulate Jonouchi.

"Nice job," she said, smiling slightly. Jonouchi thanked her.

She stepped back, enjoying the moment. Jonouchi had won his first duel in the tournament, and now had two star chips. She had four, and Yugi had three. The breeze blew her straight hair from her face, and she closed her eyes for a moment. This was the first time that she had felt completely at peace with the world since coming here.

There was a pause in the talking, and everyone heard Jonouchi's stomach growl.

He groaned. "I'm even hungrier than I was before!"

This time, Honda clutched his stomach as well. "Ugh, so am I!"

"We want food!" they both yelled.

The group agreed to have a look around and see what they could find. As they walked, Yugi dropped back next to her.

"Jess," he said, sounding a bit uncertain. "During the duel, there was a moment when you seemed… different, somehow."

Jess feigned surprise, though her heart was thumping in her chest. "How so?" she asked innocently.

Yugi shrugged. "I don't know. You seemed… calmer, somehow, more composed than usual."

Jess frowned at him, putting her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yugi coughed. "Nothing, uh… I'll just go talk to Jonouchi now." He hurried away. Jess breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't like to shove awkwardness on Yugi, but she wasn't about to give away her secret. She clapped her hand to her forehead when she realized that she could've asked him about why he was different during his duels.

_Oh well, _she thought. _I'll ask him another time._

Jonouchi stopped and sniffed. Jess suddenly got the picture of a bloodhound on the prowl. His eyes widened. "I smell something cooking!" he said, looking excitedly.

Honda looked similar to his blond friend. "So do I!"

The two of them ran off, while Jess, Yugi, and Anzu sweatdropped.

"Can they think of anything besides food?" Jess asked.

"Probably not," said Anzu, shrugging and going after them. Jess wished that she could sit down for a while; they'd been walking for what felt like hours now. Still, she sighed and followed the others.

They found Honda and Jonouchi drooling over a few fish, sizzling over a small cooking fire. They both looked like total idiots, but Jess decided not to voice the fact aloud. She found that she rather enjoyed seeing the two of them make fools of themselves, but she wouldn't let them go too far.

"Guys, it's obvious that the work in getting those fish was done by someone else," she pointed out.

Jonouchi turned to her, pouting. "But I'm so hungry…" he moaned.

"Oh, let them have it," muttered Anzu. "They'll be the ones in trouble."

"Good point," Jess said.

"Feeding frenzy!" shouted Honda and Jonouchi, about to sink their teeth into the fish.

"What do you think you're doing?"

They all jumped; the new voice was unexpected. Jess winced; she'd known they'd get caught, but that didn't stop her from feeling like a five-year-old who's just been seen stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.

Jonouchi and Honda back away from the newcomer, a teen with spiky blue hair and gray eyes. He was tan, and wearing nothing but swim trunks. He had slung a net full of wriggling fish over his shoulder, and was staring at the lot of them accusingly. "No one steals the fish of Mako Tsunami!"

"You're Mako Tsunami?" Yugi asked, looking impressed.

Jess looked around at Yugi, confused. "Who's that?"

"He's the world's top ocean deck duelist," he explained. Jess looked back at Mako.

"That explains… a lot," she murmured.

Mako had noticed Yugi by now. He threw his fish to the ground and stared at him. "Are you Yugi Mutou?" he asked quietly.

"That's me," the spiky haired kid replied.

His eyebrows went up. "So, you're duelists!" he said, and gave a huge, booming laugh. "Forgive my rudeness before; please, eat as much as you'd like!" He gave another laugh.

_Seems friendly enough, _thought Jess. She wasn't entirely sure, however; nothing in this tournament was as it seemed.

Honda and Jonouchi ate with gusto, and watching made Jess almost lose her appetite. She wondered how anyone could eat so quickly and not gain weight. Mako and Yugi discussed duel monsters, while Anzu argued with Jonouchi about something or another. Jess was content, for now, to simply sit and think.

Do you know who you are? she asked.

_No… just that I share a body now. The memories are there, but they're blurry._

Huh. Why are you sharing my body, exactly? And does this have to do with me coming to this world?

_Why are you asking me this? _Jess could sense the anger now. _You know that I cannot answer these questions! Ask Hyozanryu; she should know._

What? But I can't talk to Hyozanryu!

_Yes, you can. Just look inside your soul._

What does that mean?... Hello? Jess sighed audibly. How was she supposed to look inside her soul? Sure, she'd often felt as though Hyozanryu supported her, but could the dragon really talk?

She blinked a few times. The others were getting up from around the fire. Yugi turned to Mako, smiling his innocent smile. "Well, thanks Mako; you just about saved Jonouchi and Honda's lives. We'd better get going."

Jess watched carefully, noticing the smile on Mako's face suddenly turned from cheerful to a sneer. He stood, and threw his spear at Yugi.

"Hey!" shouted Jess. "You got a problem?"

Mako smirked at her. "The fish was bait; I was hoping to catch some duelists in my trap. I challenge you, Yugi!"

Yugi looked momentarily surprised, and opened his mouth to say something, when another newcomer strode out of the nearby forest. "Mako, what are you doing now… oh, hello there!"

Jess stared at a girl with light blue eyes. Her hair was the same color as Mako's, but was curly rather than spiky. She wore normal clothes, and had a cell phone in hand. Her eyes studied them thoughtfully, before she turned to Mako, hands on hips.

"Please tell me you aren't doing your whole drama thing again," she said, glaring. "It's pretty lame, you know."

Mako didn't look at her. Instead he just muttered, "Hello… sister."

Mako's sister gave a snort and turned back to Jess and the others. "Don't mind him; he lives in the past a bit too much," she said. "My name's Numa. And the numb-skull over there is Mako, my older brother."

Jess's eyes traveled over to the glove on the girl's hand. "You're a duelist as well?" she inquired.

Numa nodded. "That's right. I guess you and Yugi are, and blondie over there…" Jonouchi glared at her, but Numa ignored him. "Oh, and Yugi? I do recommend that you take my brother's challenge. He may not be great with social stuff, but he's good at dueling." Mako scowled at the comment about his social life.

Yugi nodded, turning to face Mako again. "I accept," he said.

Mako's face broke into a broad grin. Jess didn't think it looked like a friendly grin; it was more like a smug, confident one. Behind him, a duel arena rose from the sea.

_How is that even going to work?_ Jess wondered. The water should have fried the controls on the arena, but as Yugi and Mako ascended, it seemed to work fine.

There was a cough from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Numa staring at her.

"Hey, I won't let my bro have all the fun," she said. "So how about it, Jess? Would you like to duel?"

"Sure," Jess replied. "I have just one question, though… how do you know my name?"

"I saw your duel with Crab. It was incredible, by the way, and I hope you'll give me a challenge!" Numa raised her arm, showing that she had four star chips. "I wager all or nothing."

"Deal," Jess said. She was slightly surprised. Another duel, and so soon too. She hadn't expected the tournament to move this quickly.

Numa jerked her head back toward the forest. "Then follow me," she said, pivoting and striding away.

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" asked Honda.

Jess shook her head. "Yugi'll need you guys to cheer him on. I'll be fine," she promised. She glanced up at Yugi's duel. He was already struggling, somewhat; Mako was hiding his monsters under the ocean field. Jess had faith in her friend, but she noticed that he was acting differently again.

She was slightly unnerved by it. What was going on with him? Shrugging, she walked over to the forest, following the direction Numa had taken.

She arrived at an arena in the middle of a rocky clearing in the forest. Numa already stood, waiting on the red platform. Jess made her way to the blue platform, placing her deck on the panel below her. The life point counters climbed up to 2000, and Numa and Jess called out the same word:

"Duel!"

"Mind if I go first?" Jess asked lightly.

"Not at all."

"Here we go," she murmured, drawing her first card. She had a feeling that Numa was a lot tougher than she let on; this would be anything but an easy duel. "I summon Spell Reactor RE, in defense mode!"

The metal dragon-like machine roared as he appeared. Jess placed one card face down, and ended her turn.

"My draw!" Numa exclaimed, and grinned when she saw her hand. Jess felt slightly nervous at the smile, but didn't let it show. She knew she could win, if she tried.

"I summon Blast Magician, in attack mode!" cried Numa. A spellcaster dressed in red rose up on the field, with 1400 attack points and 1700 defense points. "Next, I activate the spell card Burning Spear! This boosts my magician's attack points by 400, and decreases his defense by 200."

"I don't think so," Jess interrupted. "Since you played a spell card, my Spell Reactor RE's effect activates!"

The machine zoomed forward, dropping a missile on the Burning Spear card. The magician lost his attack point boost, and Numa's life points fell to 1200. Numa stared in shock.

Jess explained. "Once per turn, if you play a spell card, my monster can destroy that card and deal 800 points of damage to you."

"I've never even heard of that card," murmured Numa. She suddenly gave a huge grin. "This duel is going to be awesome! But don't think you've won yet. My magician's effect activates: since I played a spell card, I put one spell counter on him."

A fiery number 1 floated next to Numa's magician. Jess narrowed her eyes; she was wary of what the counters could be used for. _I have to be careful…_

"Blast Magician! Attack Spell Reactor RE!"

Jess looked away as the magician shot fire spheres at her monster. Spell Reactor RE burst into pieces, and she placed the card in her graveyard.

"Next, I activate Bonfire. This allows me to add a level four or lower Fire monster to my hand. I place two cards face down, and end my turn."

Well, that explained what type of cards Numa preferred. Jess wondered if she was facing the best Fire duelist, just as Yugi was facing the greatest Ocean duelist. She drew a card, and scanned her hand.

_Hmm… I've got Mad Sword Beast, Ookazi, Just Desserts, Fissure, and Divine Dragon Ragnarok. Well…_

"I summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok, in attack mode!" she called. The serpent-like dragon twisted and roared, staring down at the Blast Magician, which seemed puny by comparison. "Now attack!"

A blast of wind rushed from her dragon's mouth, hitting the spellcaster. At first, Jess couldn't tell what had happened, but it quickly became clear that Blast Magician hadn't been destroyed. A number 2 floated beside him, now.

Numa smirked at her. Her life points went down to 1100, but she didn't seem to mind. "I activated my quick-play spell: Out of Sorts! Thanks to this card, I still lose life points, but my monster stays on the field."

Jess didn't mind; she was mainly about getting rid of life points, anyway. Still wary of the spell counters, she placed a card face down. "I end my turn."

"All right," Numa said. "I summon Blazing Hiita, in defense mode!" Another spellcaster appeared, a smirk on its face. "Next I activate Shrink, and I'm using it on your Divine Dragon Ragnarok!"

Jess's dragon shrunk down to 750 attack points. "Next, I'll activate my Blast Magician's effect! I can remove the three spell counters, and destroy any monster with less than 700 times the number of counters attack points!"

Blast Magician absorbed the counters, blasting Jess's dragon with a fiery surge. Jess was glad that she didn't lose life points, but it quickly became clear that Numa was planning something else.

The blue-haired girl activated Blazing Hiita's effect special, sacrificing her Blast Magician in order to summon something else.

"Here comes my best monster: come on out, Darkblaze Dragon!"

Jess blinked when she saw it. "But it only has 1200 attack points," she murmured. She would have loved to have that card in her deck, but that wasn't going to happen.

"That may be, but it's enough to deal quite a bit of damage to you. Direct attack!"

Jess grunted; her life points fell to 800.

"Next, I play Dian Keto the Cure Master!" Numa's lifepoints went up to 2100, being boosted from the spell card.

Numa ended her turn.

Jess gritted her teeth; Numa had turned the tables quickly, and it wouldn't be easy for her to win this. As she drew her next card, she smirked.

"I summon my Opticlops, in attack mode!" she called. Her Opticlops appeared, and obeyed her order to attack Darkblaze Dragon. Numa lost 600 life points, but it didn't faze her. As a matter of fact, she looked happy. Suspicious, Jess placed a card facedown and ended her turn.

"I activate Monster Reborn!" cried Numa. "With this, I can bring back Darkblaze Dragon."

The black dragon roared as it reappeared, only this time it had 2400 attack points rather than 1200. Jess stared, confused. Numa noticed this, and said, "I forgot to explain; when Darkblaze Dragon is special summoned from the graveyard, its attack and defense points double."

Jess realized why Numa had been so confident after she destroyed her ace monster. Numa grinned. "It's over, Jess. When Darkblaze Dragon destroys a monster, that monster's attack points come out of your life points!"

Darkblaze Dragon prepared to incinerate her Opticlops, but Jess was ready for it. She activated Negate Attack, ending the battle phase right there and then. Numa scowled, but ended her turn. "You're tough to hang on this long," she remarked.

"Thanks, Numa. Just remember this: I intend to win it, and you won't stop me." Numa narrowed her eyes as Jess drew a card. Jess prayed that her deck would come through for her, and glanced at the card she'd drawn.

_Yes!_ She added it to her hand, before placing a card in her spell and trap zone. "I activate Hinotama! This deals 500 points of direct damage."

A burning flare raced across the field, hitting Numa and decreasing her life points to 1000. Jess felt more confident now. "Next, I summon Hyozanryu, in attack mode!"

The beautiful diamond dragon reared its head as it appeared, roaring a challenge at Darkblaze Dragon. Its deep blue eyes surveyed the enemy, and the dragon's scales sparkled in the sunlight. Jess admired her monster for a few seconds, before activating another spell card: Megamorph.

"No!" shouted Numa, looking panicked. Hyozanryu's attack points climbed to 4200, enough to wipe out Darkblaze Dragon.

"Attack, Hyozanryu!" shouted Jess. She thought she saw her dragon nod, before a pure white stream of energy issued from her dragon's mouth. Darkblaze Dragon arched its back, before disappearing from the field. Numa's life points hit zero.

At first, the girl just stood there with her mouth open in shock. Then she shook herself and stepped off the platform, meeting Jess in the middle and shaking her hand. Jess was surprised by the firm grip, and Numa removed her four star chips.

"Here," she said. "Now you've got eight." She smiled, almost sadly. "My brother and I entered because… when we were little, our dad and my brother when on a fishing trip. There was a storm, and he disappeared… though Mako survived. We want to look for him, but we need to send some kind of message to our dad."

Jess couldn't help it when she saw the sadness in Numa's eyes. She hugged the girl, again feeling pity for someone trying to help a family member. She added the star chips to her glove, before the two of them headed back to where Yugi was dueling Mako.

"So… why are you dueling?" asked Numa.

Jess wondered if she should tell Numa the truth, and decided on half of it. "I used to have a family, but… they died a few weeks ago. I was wandering around the city, not sure what to do, when Yugi found me. He offered to let me live with him and his grandpa, but his grandpa became very ill… I promised that I would do whatever I could to help Yugi in this tournament. I know how painful it is to lose a family member."

Numa looked horrified by her explanation. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "Now I don't know who I want to win: my bro or Yugi."

Jess met her eyes. "Well, I'll cheer for both. You with me?"

"All the way!"

They emerged from the forest, to find that Yugi's duel was still progressing. Jess cheered alongside Numa for both Yugi and Mako, though it was Yugi who won in the end. Mako remorsefully explained his and Numa's hopes of finding their father to Yugi. Jess thought it was unusual to see Mako and Numa, who had both seemed to be so headstrong at first, quiet and accepting of their defeat. Yugi, Jess, and the others left, saying goodbye to Numa and Mako.

"I'll make sure to duel you again, Jess," Numa called. Jess gave her the thumbs up and nodded at her. She felt victorious after these events; Yugi had won two star chips, making his total five; Jess had eight, a fact that had made Jonouchi gawk at her for five minutes, and he had two. Jess looked down at her glove again, with only two more empty slots. _I just have to win one more duel_, she thought. _I can fulfill my promise to Yugi, and I have no intention of breaking it. _


	5. Chapter 5: More About Siblings

Jess pulled a card out of her pocket, and stared at Hyozanryu. She sent it a silent thanks for the dragon helping her out in her duel against Numa. She imagined that it sent her a 'your welcome' in return.

They were heading back near the docks now, thinking that there might be a few duelists still gathered there. Jess couldn't believe that she already had eight star chips on her glove, but then shrugged and decided to accept it. She'd gotten lucky, though she really had no clue how she'd been able to win so far.

_I think you're a better duelist that you give yourself credit for._

Jess chose to ignore them this time, instead increasing her walking pace to catch up to Jonouchi. He was oddly silent, his face dark. She knew that he was thinking about how he only had two star chips.

"Well, you're certainly a pocketful of sunshine right now," she joked.

He glanced at her and grinned, though it was only half-sincere. "Thanks for the compliment," he replied sarcastically. Then he suddenly looked a lot more depressed. "I don't know… you've got eight star chips, Yugi has five… I only have two."

Jess put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll get more," she said quietly, meeting his eyes. "I know you will."

Jonouchi shrugged. "I hope so…" He glanced at her. "You seem to be good at putting your confidence into everyone, Jess."

Jess realized that he was right, and wasn't sure what to say. She chose her words carefully: "I guess… it's because I've lost so much, and I don't want any of you guys to lose as much as I have."

It was Jonouchi's turn to pat her on the shoulder. "Hey, you might not have your family, but you've got all of us. We could be your family," he said.

She smirked. "Fine; you can be my brother. Which means…" she got him in a headlock and noogied him.

"HEY!" he yelled, as Jess let him go. She grinned at him.

"I get privileges for being your sister."

He winced, but his brown eyes were warm. Jess suddenly thought of something she'd been thinking about for a while now.

"Hey, Jonouchi, tell me a bit about Shizuka," she said. She wondered who would inspire the kind of determination he had to duel in the tournament.

"Well…" he looked thoughtful at that. "She's not just my little sis; she's my best friend too." Jess nodded; it had been the same with her own brother. "She's got brown hair, brown eyes, and is sometimes so innocent it hurts. She's always had bad eyesight, but that never stopped her from having fun. I remember one time, when we were little, we went to the beach." He smiled, his eyes distant with memories. "That was one of the best days of my life… and then my parents divorced. Mom took Shizuka with her."

Jess winced in sympathy; having recently lost her brother, she still felt the raw pain of it. She could sympathize with him easily. "I'm sure that she's thinking about you now," she said.

They let the conversation end there, walking side by side in silent companionship. Jess was glad to have Jonouchi as a brother. He had been right; Yugi and the others were like family to her now. She couldn't have asked for better friends after her arrival. Jess was about to say thanks to Jonouchi, when a loud voice from up ahead interrupted her.

"You've lost your star chips; you have to leave!"

"But I didn't lose them! They were stolen from me- my deck too!"

"That doesn't matter; no star chips, no tournament."

Jess and the others ran to see what the commotion was; they caught sight of a tall, menacing man in a suit holding a boy of about 13 or 14 in a headlock.

"Let him go!" shouted Honda, attempting to land a punch on the bodyguard's face. At first, it seemed like he had succeeded, but then the suit managed to land upright, kicking Honda away.

"Hey!" Jess yelled, glaring at the guy. "I'm pretty sure that that kid could stand upright without your help."

Scowling, the man released the boy, but kept a firm grip on his shoulder. His eyes were obscured by the sunglasses covering his face, but Jess could tell that he was adamant about this. "No star chips, no staying here."

The boy whimpered. "I never even got to duel," he whispered. "They were stolen from me, by some kid wearing a bandana on his face. He took my deck too."

Yugi stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get your deck and star chips back," he said firmly. Jess nodded in agreement; it wasn't fair that this kid would have to leave before he even got the chance to try.

"Well, you'd better hurry up!" said the suit, grinning evilly. "The boat leaves in 30 minutes."

Jess knew that it wouldn't be easy to find the thief, duel him and win, and get back to the docks in half an hour. So, without another word, she took off at run.

"Jess! Wait up!" The others ran after her, trying to keep up with her, but it was no use; she'd been a cross country runner in her own world, and was faster than most people. She didn't know why she ran in the particular direction that she did- instinct simply led her on. In the end, she came upon another duel arena- only this one was deserted.

She turned and waited a few minutes, before the others emerged from the trees, panting from the exertion. Honda stared at her like she was crazy. "Aren't you at all exhausted?"

Jess shook her head. "Cross country runner," she said. He still gave her a look that said you're-an-insane-woman.

Suddenly, a loud voice shouted out, "AHA!" Jess whirled around to see a small figure leap out of the bushes. He had a telltale bandana covering his face, and she thought she saw a glimmer of hatred in his dark eyes, which were on Yugi.

"There you are, Yugi Muto!" he snarled. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you did!"

Jess was instantly confused; she'd never seen this boy before. He looked a lot younger than them, and she couldn't recall ever meeting someone like him. There were similar expressions on all of her friends' faces; none of them knew what he was talking about.

A thoughtful look crossed Anzu's face. "Now that you mention it, he does seem kind of familiar…" she said.

Jess stared at the kid, hard. Nothing about him- his eyes, his expression- rang even the tiniest bell in her mind.

Yugi, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the kid. In that instant, Jess realized that he had changed again- there was something different about him. She didn't get it; why did this keep happening?

"Very well," he said. "I'll duel you- although I think I know who you are," he added.

The boy seemed flustered for a moment. "Yeah… well… get ready to lose!" he shouted.

The two of them stepped onto the platforms- the boy taking the red side, and Yugi taking the blue side. They set their decks down, and the life point counter rose to 2000. Jess wasn't actually sure who she wanted to win. The boy seemed desperate… almost afraid, but…

No. Yugi had to win; he had to rescue his grandpa. Jess made a promise to support him all the way.

"Go, Yugi!" she called, and he responded with a flicker of a smile. This caused her to frown. He had definitely done that weird personality change again- the normal Yugi would've given her more of a response.

The mystery kid went first, summoning a monster to the field. Jess thought that it was relatively weak, but it might've had an effect. Even so, Yugi destroyed it easily, and did the same with his next monster.

The boy pounded his fist on the panel. "It's not fair!" he yelled. "Why can't I win?"

Yugi opened his mouth to answer, but Jess beat him to it. "That isn't your deck; you don't know how to properly use it," she called. She remembered one time when she'd needed to borrow her cousin's deck to duel, and had lost easily. Then, because she could tell that she'd caught the boy off-guard, she added, "And you're not putting your heart into this duel."

His dark eyes narrowed in anger. "What makes you say that?" he hissed.

Yugi continued for her. "Because you know, deep down, that your brother didn't abandon you," he said quietly. The boy stiffened in shock, turning slowly to face Yugi again. "You're Seto Kaiba's little brother, aren't you? You're Mokuba."

The boy seemed like he was going to remain frozen forever, but he finally removed the bandana and pulled the hat off his head. A mess of black hair tumbled out, and he glared openly at Yugi.

"Thanks to you, my big brother was never the same!" he shouted. "He got all… depressed, and then he went away. He left me alone, and then Pegasus tried to take over Kaiba Corp. and kidnapped me…" his voice broke.

Jess wasn't quite clear on what was going on, but Jonouchi had filled her in on Yugi's duel with Kaiba, which had occurred before she came there. So Mokuba must've seen the duel, but what did he mean by his brother's change?

"When I defeated Kaiba, I opened up his mind," said Yugi. Jess shivered slightly; she could sense the power behind those words. Yugi suddenly looked much older than usual. "I showed him a way to live out of the dark, Mokuba. I took away his evil. Your brother hasn't abandoned you; he's gone to search for himself. He will come back, but he'll be a better person."

Uncertainty flickered on Mokuba's face. Jess could see that he was starting to crack, and decided to add her own encouragement. She opened her mouth, intending to tell Mokuba to have faith in his brother, but…

_Wait._

What now?

_Let me take control, just so that I can say something._

I don't know…

_We only have a moment. I'll try to make it brief._

All right; be quick about it.

Jess felt her limbs move without her command, and then she was standing next to her own body, watching carefully. She watched herself straighten purposefully, and speak.

"Mokuba." His name got his attention easily, and he turned his worried eyes on her. "You miss your brother. He's all you've ever had, and that's why you're so afraid he's left you. He's supported you, even before Yugi cleared his mind of doubt. You would do anything to protect him; he'd do anything to protect you. Am I not correct?"

Mokuba's eyes widened, and he nodded. Jess was shocked at her friend's insight.

"I will hazard a guess… that you lost your parents at a young age?" She saw Mokuba nod again, and continued. "So, you and Seto had to grow up without support. You've had faith in him all these years, Mokuba. He's always taken care of you. I know that you can believe in him again. He believes in you too."

With that, her friend finished, and Jess was once again standing within her own body. Everyone, including Yugi, was staring at her, expressions of shock on their faces. Sure, she had lifted their spirits before, but it was never anything as… deep or insightful as this.

Jess saw Yugi narrow his eyes at her. She saw a question in them, and turned away before her own face answered.

_How did I do?_

Brilliantly, she thought sarcastically. You've only managed to make everyone wonder if I'm sane.

_I simply spoke what needed to be said. Nothing more. Yugi suspects something, however._

He would. He's smarter than the others. By the way, how did you know all of that?

_I'm not sure… I was so certain of the truth. I sensed it, somehow… didn't you feel anything?_

To be honest… no.

_Odd. Theoretically, I should only know what you know. _

That's what bothers me.

They ended the conversation there, noticing that Mokuba seemed to be reconsidering. Most of the others were back to staring intently at him now, but Yugi's violet gaze was still on her. She fidgeted uncomfortably. _Hyozanryu, please keep him from knowing…_

It seemed that her dragon had answered, for Yugi turned back to Mokuba. The boy was nodding slowly, saying, "Your friend's right, Yugi. I guess I have to believe in Seto… he _is_ all I've got."

With those words, he climbed back down the platform, and the life point counter faded away. As he headed over to Yugi, he tilted his head slightly, meeting Jess's eyes. They were filled with such bright hope that made Jess want to hug him. The poor kid; her friend had been right, really.

"Here," he said to Yugi. "This is the deck and the star chips I stole." He handed them to Yugi, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry about all of that."

"Well, we need to hurry up!" said Honda, checking his watch. He looked alarmed. "The boat leaves in five minutes!"

"Want me to go ahead?" Jess offered. "I can run faster than any of you."

Yugi nodded. "That's true," he said, looking thoughtful. He handed her the star chips and deck, and she took off. The others followed her, but at a pace they could handle.

She just couldn't seem to get there quick enough; at last, she emerged from the trees, seeing the dock ahead. Panic set in when she saw that the boat was gone.

She ran up behind the bodyguard. "Call it back!" she demanded. "I've got his star chips. See?" She held them up, desperate to convince him.

The guard smirked. "Sorry, no can do. And just for good measure…" he slapped her hand, knocking the star chips into the ocean.

She stood there trembling with rage, wanting to claw at the man in front of her. She'd never met anyone so… spiteful, contemptuous…

"Jess!" Yugi called. He ran up beside her, and Jess noticed that he was still different, not the Yugi she knew. He noticed her expression. "Are you alright?"

Jess slowly pointed an accusing finger at the man. "He… sent the boat off early, and refused to call it back… and then he just threw the star chips into the ocean!"

"What'd you do that for, eh? You suited jerk!" yelled Jonouchi.

"First of all, my name is Kemo," he said, gritting his teeth.

Jess thought that it was ironic, how his name rhymed with a cancer treatment that used harmful chemicals to get rid of the tumors.

"And second of all, those star chips were worthless," he stated bluntly.

He didn't know that; Jess felt slightly sickened by his arrogance. But something was nagging at her. She frowned. Kemo was up to something.

"And now…" Kemo reached over and grabbed Mokuba, holding him firmly.

"Let. Him. Go!" snarled Jess trying to get at Kemo. Jonouchi and Honda held her back, both of them hissing, "He could pound you into next week, Jess."

Although she didn't want to admit it, they were right. She stopped struggling, and they cautiously let her go. She felt hatred for Kemo boiling up inside her. Mokuba struggled against his captor, attempting to kick him, but to no avail.

Kemo's confident sneer widened. "Yugi, if you want to help the little Kaiba… follow me." He turned away, Mokuba still in his grasp. Jess realized that this was what he'd been aiming for all along.

"Look!" she spat, causing Kemo to settle his gaze on her. "If there's anything that needs doing, I'm sure I can handle it."

"No, Jess," said Yugi, glancing at her. "It's fine."

Jess sighed and folded her arms. What Yugi just being valiant… or… she glanced at him, seeing that his violet gaze was still trained on her questioningly. Or did he not trust her?

They followed Kemo, away from the docks once more. Jess wished that Mokuba could be free for once, and that he didn't have to be captured by Pegasus in the first place. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear; this was getting more and more complicated.

She and Yugi walked side by side, the tension between them palpable. She knew that Yugi was curious, and that he'd ask her about what had happened earlier soon enough.

She was not wrong, in that aspect. The question came, though it was more specific than she'd expected.

"How did you know so much about Mokuba?" he asked. Jess flinched slightly. She didn't want to lose Yugi's trust, not now; he was her best friend. She decided on the answer that her friend had given her.

"I just sort of… sensed it," she replied, not meeting his eyes. She felt rather than saw him frown, before he shrugged and let it go. She knew, though, that the subject would come up again.

"Welcome," said Kemo with a snicker. They'd arrived at… yet another duel arena. Jess groaned, wishing for some originality. He turned to Yugi. "I think you'll find your opponent to be quite… familiar."

Everyone else in the group reeled back in shock as they beheld the tall, blue-eyed brunette standing on the red side of the arena. Jess simply stared. "Never seen him before," she said.

No one answered her; their attention was all focused on the mystery person. Mokuba looked especially surprised, his eyes wider than she'd ever seen.

"Kaiba?" asked Yugi.

_That's Kaiba? _Jess thought, staring at the duelist. He snickered a little before replying.

"Yes, Yugi. It's me, Kaiba. And this time you stand… a ghost of a chance."

Jess arched an eyebrow at the guy. "That's a little cliché, don't you think?" she called out loudly.

Both Kemo and Kaiba shot her annoyed looks, while Yugi stepped up to the arena. "He means it literally," Kemo said. "Yugi doesn't stand a chance, because this time around, Kaiba is a ghost."

Mokuba gasped in horror, Jonouchi yelled, "As if!" Honda scowled darkly, and Jess couldn't help herself. She shouted, "Bull crap!"

Then, the next thing she knew, she was laughing insanely. Everyone edged away from her, nervous looks on their faces.

"Something amusing?" said Kaiba's 'ghost'.

She continued sniggering, before gaining some composure, and saying, "If Kaiba really came back, he'd never work with Pegasus. One: he kidnapped his little brother. Two: Pegasus owns a rivaling company to Kaiba Corp. Would he ever work with a rival? Kaiba's ghost, my foot," she said, continuing to chuckle.

Mokuba looked confused. "How do you know him so well?" he asked her. "You've never even met him."

"No, but I can imagine," she replied, still grinning.

The duel began without much more commentary. Unfortunately, whether he was really Kaiba or not, the ghost was using Kaiba's deck. He- or it, whichever- had proved that by summoning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Jess's eyes widened slightly. She quickly pulled out her own deck, flipping through it until she found her own Blue Eyes. It was one of her favorites, though not as dear to her as Hyozanryu.

She quickly put the card away before anyone noticed, but she thought she saw Yugi's eyes flicker towards her. Stowing her deck back in her pocket, she checked Mokuba. She could see that he was starting to lose hope, starting to believe that his brother really was… dead.

"Mokuba," she called out. "Don't give up hope yet. Remember what I told you about dueling?"

He looked over at her sniffling slightly, and she realized that he was crying. "Y-you mean that you can't use a deck properly unless you really know it?" he asked.

She nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. He reminded her so much of her own brother. "Uh-huh. And I can tell you that this… _thing_ doesn't know how to use that deck properly."

Mokuba straightened, looking hopeful again. "Really?" he asked.

"Really."

He offered a hesitant smile back. She'd done her best to help him; now it was time for Yugi to prove her right.

* * *

Seto Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?" he asked.

"I said that Yugi Muto is currently dueling someone who's registered as- you," the computer replied. "He's even got your deck."

"Get me a visual," Kaiba snapped.

It wasn't all that difficult to hack into the camera system. Soon, he had access to all the cameras surrounding the arena. He narrowed his blue eyes when he saw that the imposter had summoned his favorite monster to the field.

"Is there any way to infect that monster with a virus?" he asked. For once, he hoped that Yugi would win. There was no way he could let some imposter take his place.

"It shouldn't be a problem," the computer replied smugly. "I'm uploading it already."

"Good." He studied the duel, noting that Yugi was struggling a bit. He then observed the people on the sidelines. He noticed a girl that hadn't been with Yugi and his friends the last time he saw them. She had her hands on her hips, and was glaring at Pegasus's henchman, shouting something at him. He completely forgot about her when he saw who was with Kemo.

"Mokuba!" he shouted, anger pulsing through him. He realized that Yugi must be dueling to free his brother. "How's that virus coming?" he asked.

"I'm working on it!" the computer snapped, annoyed. Kaiba wondered why he'd even bothered to give it a personality. He rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the screen. The virus was beginning to take effect; the Blue-Eyes was sagging, as well as losing attack points.

He drummed his fingers on the armrest; he had never been one for patience. He glanced worriedly at Mokuba, still on the screen. The girl seemed to be speaking to him now, smiling at him in a comforting way. Mokuba offered a tentative smile back.

_At least she's helping him, _he thought.

* * *

Jess wasn't the first to notice something strange about the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Anzu gasped and pointed it out to everyone else on sight.

"What's up with his monster?" she asked.

The dragon was sagging, melting almost, and its attack points were slowly starting to drop down. Jess could hardly believe that there was such a miracle at this point.

"It's Seto!" shouted Mokuba happily. "Seto hacked the system; he's alive, he's okay!"

Jess had a feeling that the kid was right. There wasn't really a better explanation, and judging the look on the fake Kaiba's face, he wasn't too happy about it.

"I told you he'd come through for you," she told him.

Mokuba didn't hear her; he was too caught up in his excitement, yelling out cheers for his big brother. Jess didn't know if he could hear him, but then she caught sight of the cameras angled towards them. Kaiba was keeping a close eye on his sibling.

Then the phony began to change, cackling madly before bulging outward. Jess cringed at the sight, which was disgusting, as the fake Kaiba turned into…

"A clown?" shouted Jess. "Honestly, how lame can you people get?"

The clown sneered over at Yugi. "I wasn't lying when I said that I was Seto Kaiba, but I'm just the bad part!" he shrieked. "The part you sent to the Shadow Realm."

Yugi narrowed his eyes. "You were supposed to stay there."

_Wait a minute…_

Got a sudden insight?

_I don't know… the words 'Shadow Realm' sound somewhat familiar, but I'm not sure why. As for Yugi, I didn't know that he had that kind of power._

Neither did I. Frankly, it's scary. He's usually very kind, too. It's not like him at all.

_That is true… something is wrong here._

Agreed.

Jess didn't have time to investigate, though. She needed to stay in the here and now, so that they could defeat the creep and help Mokuba get away from Kemo.

The first Blue-Eyes had been destroyed; now the clown had summoned a second one. He was a pretty pathetic duelist in Jess's opinion, and her opinion turned out to be correct; soon, Yugi defeated the freak of nature, destroying the second Blue-Eyes as well. Jess felt bad for the dragon, being used by such a creep.

"Now," Yugi said. Jess heard a strange foreboding in his voice. She remembered the way he'd spoken earlier- the way his voice had had power in it. It was the same now, and she suppressed another shiver.

"It's time you went back where you came from!" called Yugi, raising one hand as though he were about to grasp something. Jess gasped when she felt a wave of energy fly outward, though it didn't harm her. The same could not be said of the clown, as it evaporated with a loud shriek of pain.

Jess saw, for a brief moment, the millennium symbol on Yugi's forehead.

_No, _she thought. It had to have been a trick of the light; only one person actually had the symbol stuck on their face, and that was her.

_It wasn't a trick._

Jess waited, expecting to hear more, but nothing else was coming. She knew that her friend was absolutely right, and that there was nothing she could do about it.

Yugi, meanwhile, climbed down from the arena. He smiled at all of them, and Jess sighed with relief; the Yugi she knew was, at last, back.

They all congratulated him on his latest victory, even though he hadn't gotten any star chips from it. Jess felt that something wasn't right about this, though, and looked around.

"Hey, where's Mokuba?"

They all stopped talking abruptly, glancing around. Jess felt panic rising within her, which was quickly replaced by outrage.

"He took him!" she shouted, so loudly that Jonouchi covered his ears. "That two-faced bastard Kemo took him!"

"Umm… Jess?" said Yugi, looking concerned. "Look, we're angry too, but… maybe you should calm down a bit."

Jess froze, realizing how stupid she must look. What was done was done. She took several deep breaths, though the anger still boiled inside her. "Sorry," she muttered. Why did her anger get to her so much these days?

Huh, that answer was obvious: she stilled missed her family, and the wound left by that was aggravated by Mokuba's kidnapping.

They left the arena, the sight of a duel that wasn't all that fun to watch. Jess wished that there was more that she could've done to help, but she had to accept that she would rescue Mokuba some other way.

"Jess?" She turned to see Yugi staring at her. She knew what he was going to ask, but was in a bad mood. She didn't want to have to deal with it now.

"Can we not talk about this now?" she asked, trying not to sound too rude. She met his eyes, hoping that they gave nothing away.

Yugi's gaze softened, and he nodded. She relaxed, glad that he understood.


	6. Chapter 6: Inner Thoughts Revealed

Jess blinked; she couldn't help but feel slightly surprised.

"You're a duelist, Honda?" she asked.

He scowled at her and Jonouchi, annoyance in his reply. "Yes, I am. Now can I have my cards back, Jonouchi?"

The blond, however, was paying no attention, sifting through Honda's cards. He stopped at a certain card and stared for a little bit. "Hey… isn't this Lava Battleguard?"

Honda snatched the card back, shoving it with the rest in his pocket. "Yeah, what about it?"

Jonouchi pulled out his own deck, searching until he found a different card. He showed to Jess and Honda.

"This is Swamp Battleguard. Doesn't he look a lot like Honda's?"

Jess nodded; it did look very similar. There were some features that were slightly different, and Jonouchi's was green, not red. But still, they had very similar builds, as well as a fierce look.

"Of course," said Jonouchi, grinning, "Swamp Battleguard packs a way better wallop than Lava Battleguard."

Honda snorted. "Lava Battleguard's wallop is just fine." The two began arguing over which card was best, and Jess began to wonder if she was going to get a headache.

"Well, then I'll prove it!" shouted Honda. He slapped his card into Jonouchi's hand. "Why don't you try it out?"

Jonouchi shrugged. "Sure. They say that the two work best when they're on the field at the same time."

Jess saw Anzu roll her eyes. "Honestly," she muttered to Jess, "I can see a comparison between those two muscleheads and Jonouchi and Honda."

Jess grinned at her. "For sure," she agreed. The two could certainly have their moments of stupidity.

The five of them emerged into a large meadow, where quite a few duelists were wandering about. She studied the opponents thoughtfully, and wondered if she should challenge one of them and claim her last two star chips. She decided against it, instead choosing to stand by for now. It would be best to let Yugi or Jonouchi have a shot. Jonouchi especially needed it.

Then she spotted someone who really wouldn't help with the mood in the group. It was only a matter of time before Mai noticed them two, and then she'd probably demand a rematch from Jonouchi.

"Five… four… three… two… one…" she muttered.

On one, Mai strode over and confronted them.

"Well, well," she said, smirking. "If it isn't Jonouchi. Get any more star chips?"

Jonouchi frowned at her. "Now that you mention it…" his voice trailed off, as Mai spotted his glove. Her confident smirk widened.

"Still only two?" she asked smugly.

Jonouchi was beginning to look flustered. "Well, yeah, but… how many have you got?" he demanded.

Mai raised her hand and twisted her wrist, revealing eight slots filled in on the cuff.

"I doubt any of you could top that."

Jess glowered at her, thoroughly annoyed with her being so stuck up. Casually, she said, "I don't know about topping that, but as far as getting even…"

She smirked as she held up her own glove, savoring Mai's awestruck face.

"Impossible!" she exclaimed, looking furious. "How could the little freak have as many star chips as me?"

"My name happens to be Jess," Jess growled. She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here, anyway?"

Mai looked directly at her. "To get revenge," she said.

Yugi frowned a bit. "Jonouchi already beat you, Mai."

Mai sighed, sounding exasperated. "Jonouchi, how long are you going to let the little freak and Yugi stand up for you?"

Jonouchi looked taken aback, as Mai continued. "They're always helping you. Can you even prove that you're capable of winning on your own?"

"That's not fair!" Jess protested. "He helps us just as much!"

"Well, I don't know about you, hon," said Mai. "But I know that Yugi doesn't need it."

Jess opened her mouth, turning red with anger, when Jonouchi interrupted.

"No, guys, she's right." Jess turned to Jonouchi, surprised, and saw that he looked pretty miserable. "I haven't been able to do anything myself these days. I'll take her challenge. I have to prove that I'm capable; how else can I help Shizuka?"

"Jonouchi…" Jess said. She didn't want him to be like this, so down on himself. Usually the blond was so hyped up and enthusiastic.

Jonouchi turned back to Mai, his expression hardened. "I accept," he said. He looked around to where Jess and Yugi stood. "And you guys can't help me this time."

Mai's smirk was still in place. "I will not be your opponent, actually."

"Say what?" Jonouchi replied, looking baffled.

That's when another duelist approached; Jess recognized him from the other day, when they were watching the regional championship. The dinosaur user, Rex Raptor. He stared at Jonouchi in slight disbelief, before turning to Mai.

"That's the chump you wanted me to duel?" he asked. "I could squash him in five seconds!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Jess said, sneering at the duelist. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Rex."

Rex whipped around to glare at her, but she just smiled innocently at him.

"I could duel you myself," Mai said to Jonouchi. "But this seemed like the perfect way to get my revenge."

In any other situation, Jess would've said, "Geez, woman, it's a card game." But at the moment, the soul of Yugi's grandpa was on the line. So, for now, it wasn't just a game.

Honda seemed to decide that it was time to intervene. "Are you nuts, Jonouchi?" he asked, looking appalled. He turned back to Mai. "Sorry, but he won't be dueling today. You can set up a play date with him some other time."

The next thing they all knew, Honda was on the ground, his hand on his face. Jonouchi stood over him, his left hand balled into a fist, glaring.

"I have to do this, Honda," he said. "I have to prove I can duel on my own."

"So what?" Honda yelled, standing up. "So you can throw away your chance to help Shizuka?" He began to walk away.

"Honda, wait!" called Anzu. There was worry in her eyes.

"No, Anzu," he said. "If show-off here wants to lose Shizuka's eyesight, he can go right ahead."

Jess stared after him in horror. She'd never thought that Honda could get so riled up. He'd always seemed calmer, rational; now he was in a darker mood than she'd ever seen him. She sighed; this tournament was testing everybody, in more ways than one.

There was another arena nearby; it rose up out of the ground, and Rex and Jonouchi took their places. Curious faces were all around, wondering why the regional runner-up was facing up against a nobody.

_He won't be a nobody for long, _thought Jess. _Not if I can help it._

The duel began, with neither her nor Yugi saying anything. Jonouchi wasn't doing too badly; he was trying his best to defeat Rex. However, Rex had more dueling experience, not to mention an unfortunate habit of taunting his opponent.

After a while, Jonouchi began to crack. Jess knew that he needed Honda here to support him. She turned to Yugi.

"I'm going to find Honda," she said.

Yugi nodded. "I've been thinking that same thing," he replied.

"We'll be right back, Jonouchi!" she called up. Jonouchi glowered at her for a bit, before drawing another card. Jess realized that he thought they were abandoning him.

_We will be back, and hopefully Honda will come too,_ she thought. They left, the sounds of the duel receding behind them.

It wasn't all that difficult to find the brunette; he hadn't gone far. He knelt in front of a stream, splashing his face with the cold water.

Jess and Yugi came up behind him. He saw their reflections in the water, and grumbled, "What are you guys doing here?"

Yugi shrugged. "I'm not supposed to help, so I thought that I should just leave."

Jess glanced at Yugi; that wasn't why they were here! He noticed her look, and gave a tiny shake of his head. His message was clear: just play along with it.

Jess gave a dramatic sigh. "Yeah, Jonouchi has to win on his own," she said seriously.

Honda looked at the two of them, glancing back and forth. Panic appeared in his eyes.

"You guys can't leave him there; he'll never win the duel!" he exclaimed. He grabbed Yugi by the collar, lifting him up into the air. "What happens when Shizuka never gets her surgery?"

Jess was about to yell at Honda to put Yugi down, but Yugi spoke before she could. "This is something that Jonouchi needs to do," he said firmly, refusing to be intimidated. Honda narrowed his eyes, but Jess noticed his grip slacken slightly.

She pitched in. "If Jonouchi can't prove he's strong enough to be there for Shizuka now," she said, "He'll never be able to be there in the future." Understanding began to flare in Honda's brown eyes, but then it was clouded again. He released Yugi, but didn't budge.

"Still," he said, "You could be there to at least support him. He needs you guys there."

"He needs you too, Honda," she shot back sharply. "You're one of his best friends. Jonouchi needs support from you just as much as he needs it from Yugi or me."

She could tell that they were convincing him. At last, he nodded slowly, though he still looked slightly resentful.

The three of them headed back to the duel arena, where Jonouchi was still putting up a fight. He looked a bit more hopeful now that they were back, especially happy to see Honda. Jess nudged him, muttering, "I told you so."

Jonouchi then summoned both Swamp Battleguard and Lava Battleguard, which brought cheers from Honda. Jess smiled to herself, glad to see that the two were getting along again.

After some time, Rex offered Jonouchi a deal: they each ante up their rarest cards. It would be whatever that was for Rex or Jonouchi's Time Wizard from Yugi. This angered Mai, as she yelled at Rex for that not being part of the deal.

The duel ended with Jonouchi using his Time Wizard to age Rex's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Jess wondered where or how Rex had even gotten a hold of that card. He had to give it up to Jonouchi, and Jess was glad to see that he had such an effective monster in his deck.

_Jonouchi keeps getting better. I hope you're honored to have him as a 'brother'. _

It's not about honor.

_…No, it's not; you're right. _

There was a commotion that broke her out of her conversation for the moment; she turned in time to see Honda punch Jonouchi in the face.

"That was for earlier." With that he began walking away. Jess walked over, smiling slightly, and offered Jonouchi a hand.

He grinned up at her, taking it. "Thanks, sis," he said… and they were off again.

Jess was starting to become exhausted; the entire tournament seemed to be going by in one day, if that was even possible. The sun had begun to set, and the day was ending. She hoped that they weren't expected to pull an all-nighter, and duel in the later hours as well.

Once again, Honda and Jonouchi succumbed to the wrath of their hunger. They clutched their stomachs, groaning.

"Food…"

"Now that they mention it, I'm getting a little hungry too," Jess admitted.

"Same here," said Yugi. "We should've brought some snacks or something."

Just then, salvation came from an unexpected source.

"You all look a hungry."

Jess turned around to see Mai. Again. God, couldn't this woman leave them alone and not pester them for at least five seconds?

For once, however, she seemed sincere. She opened the bag she carried to reveal food and snacks galore.

Jonouchi and Honda lunged for it, but she smoothly snatched the bag away.

"Here's the deal," she said. "I'm willing to share, but the boys have to set up camp."

Jess sagged with relief; a reasonable suggestion, for once. Still… "What about Anzu and I?"

Mai shrugged. "Do what you want. Although, Pegasus has had some showers set up around the island. You two could freshen up a bit, if you'd like."

A shower sounded great right then; Jess felt slightly sick when she'd realized that she hadn't showered in days.

Jonouchi and Honda were already building the camp with quite a bit of enthusiasm. Jess shook her head at the two of them; what would they not do for food?

Anzu went first. Jess had told her to take her time, knowing how much any girl likes to shower thoroughly. She and Mai chatted, the usual hostility between them absent.

"Why do you hang out with those geeks anyway?" asked Mai. "Sure there's the thing on your forehead, but I can tell that if people got to know you, they wouldn't see you as a weirdo."

Jess looked back over at the camp sight. Why had she become friends with them; it could've been anyone else. "I guess…" her voice trailed off, before she completed her answer. "Yugi was the first person who saw through the mark I have, and through the leave-me-alone charade I used to put up. I can't give a better answer than that." She studied Mai closely. "You still keep that charade, don't you?"

"Something like that," said Mai. "I don't get what's so great about friends."

Jess didn't answer; Mai would have to figure out that one for herself.

Anzu emerged, and Jess took her turn. The water wasn't heated, but it still felt nice to wash off all the grime that came with staying on an island for a day. She closed her eyes, letting the spray hit her face for a while.

She pulled on her clothes again- her bra, her light pink, half-sleeve shirt, and her jeans. She wore gym shoes as well; she didn't care much for flip-flops or sandals of any kind.

The others had already started eating. Yugi shifted over a bit so that there was a place for me to sit beside him. He looked apologetic. "Sorry; Jonouchi and Honda were too hungry to wait."

Jess smiled at him. "I get it."

They talked and ate, and for a little while everything seemed normal; they could've been a bunch of friends on a campout together. Jess wished that it could stay this way, feeling almost normal…

Mai stood abruptly. "I'm going for a walk," she said curtly. She stalked off into the woods. Jess frowned after her, wondering what was up. She didn't understand that woman.

They stared at her retreating back for a moment, before they resumed their conversation.

"Jonouchi, can I have a look at your Red-Eyes?" she asked him.

Jonouchi pulled it out and handed it to her. She admired the black dragon, noting that it would be a powerful addition to Jonouchi's deck. She couldn't help but get the sense that this card belonged with him.

She handed it back. "Use it well," she said.

Jonouchi pocketed it- and froze.

They'd all heard it. A rustling in the bushes. Jess shuddered; suddenly, the night didn't seem so peaceful anymore. Any shadow could've been hiding a lurking being.

The shaking started again, and a boy I'd never seen before emerged from.

Anzu gave a little shriek, Honda and Jonouchi's eyes widened, and Yugi looked mildly surprised.

"Bakura, what are you doing here?" he asked, sounding puzzled.

I looked at him, confused. "Whoda what-now?"

The boy had snow white hair and dark brown eyes. He had an innocent expression that made Jess slightly suspicious.

"Hello, Yugi," he said, smiling. "Honda, Anzu, Jonouchi. It's nice to see you all." He cocked his head in my direction. "I don't believe I've met you before, though." He held out his hand.

Jess took it hesitantly. She felt a kind of power sear into her, and she couldn't help it; she flinched away. He studied her a little, before saying, "I'm Ryou Bakura."

"Jess Tyro."

Jess had decided to keep her old last name, since it served as a reminder of what she'd lost. Her friends started a little at hearing that, and she realized that they still didn't know her last name.

Anzu nudged Honda. "I told you I saw him," she hissed.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Yugi. His violet eyes were questioning.

Bakura just smiled. "I came to the tournament to see a bit more about how the game is played." He took out a dueling deck. "So… do any of you have a favorite card?"

Jess's thoughts instantly flew to Hyozanryu, and his eyes traveled over to her. "Do you have one Jess?"

For some reason, Jess was reluctant to tell him; however, she thought it would be a bit rude to not answer the question.

She showed him the card. "It's Hyozanryu," she muttered. His smile widened, a fact that she didn't like.

Jonouchi grinned. "Mine's easy; it's my old pal, Flame Swordsman." He held it up, showing off the Fire attribute monster.

"Magician of Faith," said Anzu.

"Cyber Commander," Honda added.

Bakura nodded slowly to each of the answers. "What about you, Yugi?"

Yugi smiled. "Oh, Dark Magician, hands down."

Jess groaned inwardly. What she the only one who didn't trust this guy? "What's your favorite?"

He showed it to her. "It's the Change of Heart spell card."

Jess pretended to get excited over it. "Oh, cool! I have that card in my deck!" she exclaimed, pulling it out. In reality, though, she watched his response carefully.

He simply gave an innocent, genuine smile. His next suggestion, however, deepened her suspicion further.

"How about we have a friendly game?" he asked. "Yugi versus me, and you all put your favorite cards in his deck?"

"Sounds good to me!" said Jonouchi. Everyone else agreed, but Jess paused a moment.

Yugi looked at her expectantly. She sighed and gave in, handing over Hyozanryu. She was reluctant to see it go.

They knelt over a tree trunk, Yugi on one side, Bakura on the other. The rest of them gathered behind Yugi. Jess still had a bad feeling in her stomach.

"Before we begin…" said Bakura. Suddenly, his voice was much deeper, and more foreboding as well. The air in front of him shimmered, revealing a strange necklace around his neck. Jess's eyes widened when she saw the symbol on it.

"It's a millennium item!" she and Yugi exclaimed. Then she sensed a pulse of dark energy come from Bakura. Her only thought was, _Oh, not again…_ before blackness covered her eyes.

* * *

The spirit of the puzzle sensed that Yugi was… gone. He wasn't sure how or where he'd gone- just that his soul suddenly was no longer present.

He instantly knew that Bakura was behind this. He focused a moment, taking over Yugi's body, just as Bakura was reaching for the puzzle.

"No!" the white haired boy hissed. He glared.

The spirit returned his glare. "So long as I'm here, you won't be taking the puzzle." He noticed his surroundings, which were nothing but black clouds that shifted all around them.

"Where are we?" he demanded.

Bakura chuckled. "We're in the Shadow Realm, and if you want your friends back, you'll have to defeat me in a little game."

The spirit narrowed his eyes. "Very well, but I know that you're not Bakura. What have you done to him?"

Bakura smirked. "That's none of you concern," he said.

They shuffled their decks, the spirit remembering that Yugi's friends had given him their favorite cards. The two adversaries were about to begin… when they heard movement.

Both looked over, surprised to see Jess stirring. The eye on her forehead seemed to glow briefly- or had he imagined it? - and she sat up.

Without meeting his or Bakura's eyes, she walked over and kneeled beside him, leaving a foot or so of space between them. Her eyes were on the dueling field, focusing hard. Bakura scowled at her, but otherwise ignored her.

"I will begin," said the spirit of the puzzle. "I summon Cyber Commander, in defense mode."

But the monster itself did not appear… instead, it was Honda.

The spirit gave a start; Jess didn't react, simply staring at the card.

Bakura laughed. "I've sealed all your friends' souls into their favorite cards," he told the other spirit. "They're in danger no matter where they are."

He scowled at Bakura. "You make me sick," he muttered. "I end my turn."

"Very well then." Bakura drew a card. "I summon White Magical Hat, in attack mode. Now destroy Cyber Commander!"

The magician surged forward, and they all heard Honda cry out as he was sent to the graveyard. This time Jess did react, her eyes widening with worry.

The spirit summoned Jonouchi as the Flame Swordsman, and it continued from there. Bakura constantly kept him on edge, the threat of his friends being hurt looming over his head. All the while, Jess watched in silence, not speaking once.

The spirit thought this was odd for her; normally, she'd be throwing comebacks at Bakura, for all his snide remarks.

He managed to bring back Honda by using Monster Reborn. He thought he saw Jess sag with relief out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't be sure. Bakura used a Morphing Jar next, forcing the spirit to add the Dark Magician to his hand. Soon, he'd have to summon Yugi.

That's what he did, and Yugi appeared, wearing the garb of the Dark Magician. He blinked several times.

"Huh? What's going on?" he asked, looking bemused. He turned around to see the spirit, a giant looming above him. He glanced to the spirit's right, to see Jess kneeling there.

"Jess!" he called. "Thank goodness you're okay." She didn't respond, except to give a slight nod. He frowned; that wasn't like her at all.

"Uh, Yugi?" said Jonouchi. "How come you're down here and up there?"

The spirit gave him a nod; they should know.

"Well, there's a spirit that dwells in the millennium puzzle. He helps me whenever I'm in trouble, and that includes now."

Honda whistled. "That's pretty crazy stuff there, Yugi."

The spirit set Magician of Faith next, with Anzu popping up from beneath the card. The duel continued, with all of them unsure what lay around the corner.

Several turns into it, the spirit drew the final of favorite cards. Hyozanryu.

He blinked, then glanced at Jess beside him. She didn't look at him, her hands clasped in her lap. Well, if she was there, then she couldn't be in the card. One less soul to worry about.

"I summon Hyozanryu!" he said, placing the dragon in attack mode.

It appeared at once, its blue eyes flaring at Bakura's monster. Standing next to it, however, with her hand laid on its neck… was Jess.

Everyone stared at her in shock. She glanced at all of them. "What?" she snapped. Then she froze, and slowly turned to look up at the spirit of the puzzle, as well as herself.

The spirit thought he heard her say, "Oh, crap."

"Jess, how can you be down here, and up there? Unless…" Yugi's voice trailed off.

The spirit caught on at once. He whirled to face the stranger using Jess's body, anger pulsing through him, stating, "Who are you?"

She slowly rose up her turquoise eyes to meet his own for the first time. He could now see subtle differences between her and Jess- the eyes were narrower, she seemed as though she'd be taller, and her bearing was altogether different. It was… more proud, somehow.

There was no fear in her eyes. She looked at him calmly, ignoring Jess's frantic attempts to get her attention. She spoke, and her voice was soft, but somehow authoritative.

"My name is Clea."

Author's note: Not my best chapter. So... now we know the name of Jess's friend. You'll learn more about Clea soon, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait until next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7: Learn About Yourself

"Come on, Clea," yelled Jess from where she stood beside Hyozanryu. "You weren't supposed to tell them!"

Clea looked down at the person whose body she inhabited. "This was my choice," she said calmly. "I am not afraid to reveal who I am. Besides," she added, shifting her gaze to Yugi. "I suppose we could call it even. I was not aware that a spirit existed in the puzzle."

The spirit narrowed his eyes. "It was not your place to know."

"Neither was it your place to demand who I was," said Clea. "The truth is, I don't know. Jess gave me the name."

Everyone turned their eyes back on Jess, who shrugged. "I thought it fit her."

"What a surprise," said Bakura, sneering. "I knew about the millennium puzzle, but the fact that you exist shocks me. I suppose that partially explains the mark that you both share."

Jess and Clea's eyes went upward, in the direction of their foreheads, where the eye was. Jess scowled, while Clea simply shrugged. It was clear that despite their identical appearance, the two of them were fundamentally different from one another. Though Clea was right about them 'being even' with Yugi and the spirit of the puzzle, she had never intended to reveal Clea's presence so soon.

"So… we got little Yugi and little Jess down here with us," said Jonouchi. "And then there's big Yugi and big- oh, uh, I mean Clea- up there." He looked over at Yugi and Jess, and snickered. "I feel kind of bad for you two."

Jess crossed her arms, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yugi wouldn't take that. "I'll show you who's small!"

"Yugi, wait!" cried the spirit, but Yugi already attacked. The world's colors went inside out, destroying the set monster Electric Lizard. Jess gasped, as Yugi fell to his knees, crying out in pain.

"Electric Lizard's effect prevents little Yugi from attacking next turn," said Bakura, smirking. "It's quite… shocking, really."

"I end my turn," said the spirit, gritting his teeth.

"Well then, I think I'll set Man Eater Bug in face down defense position," said Bakura. "And you know what that means…"

"No…" whispered Jess, horror coming over her face. Yugi's eyes widened as well, as did the spirit's. Everyone else, Clea included, looked confused.

"Man Eater Bug's special ability is that whenever it's flipped up, a monster is destroyed. If we attack it, it'll be flipped up," murmured Jess.

"And we have to destroy it in order to get at Bakura," Yugi continued.

Anzu blanched. "One of us has to make a sacrifice?"

"I'll do it," said Honda, stepping forward.

"No way," said Jonouchi. "You've already been there once; now it's my turn."

While the two were arguing, Jess sighed and shook her head. If they thought that she would just sit here while they bickered, they were dead wrong.

She looked up at her dragon, relieved when Hyozanryu's eyes met hers. She saw acceptance for her decision in them. She turned her head and looked up at Clea.

Huh, so we can still talk.

_Jess, what are you doing?_

Wish I had time to give you a few lessons about living like a normal teen. Ah well.

_Hold on, Jess!_

Hey, you made your choice. Now it's my turn.

"Let's go, Hyozanryu," she whispered. The dragon opened its mouth, gathering up white light inside it. Jess sensed the power growing, feeling as though she herself was causing it to happen. Well, she was- sort of.

The beam exploded outward, causing everyone who was arguing to spin around and star in horror as Man Eater Bug appeared, slashing at Hyozanryu and Jess. Jess turned her head, flashing a quick smile at them before she vanished.

* * *

The first thing she felt was cold.

Sure, there had been agony before, but it was white-hot, burning, while she and her dragon screamed in their minds. It was unusual, though; it almost felt like there was just one person screaming.

But now she was shivering. Her eyes opened to see graves all around them, of different shapes and sizes. She blinked, realizing that she was on her knees, and stood.

There were trees too, but they were stiff and gray. Wisps of fogs appeared here and there, making the place seem even drearier. Jess realized where she had to be.

"The card graveyard."

She spun around, to see Hyozanryu staring straight at her. Jess was about to ask how the dragon knew what she'd been thinking, when another though occurred to her.

"You can talk?" she asked.

"Not the same way you can," her dragon replied, mouth not moving. "Rather, I can send messages to your brain." Jess stared at Hyozanryu for a few moments. It certainly sounded like Hyozanryu was speaking out loud, but there was no way to tell, apart from the fact that the dragon wasn't moving its mouth.

"So… what do we do now?"

"Normally, we wait until my power recovers sufficiently to return us back to the Monster Spirit World. However, since you are with me this time, this is no longer an option."

"Right…" Jess mumbled, feeling slightly guilty for putting her favorite card in this situation. Hyozanryu gave her a kind look, as though reading her thoughts.

"Not to say that there isn't something we can do," said Hyozanryu. The dragon raised its head and sniffed a little. Its- no, her- eyes narrowed. Jess didn't know why she was certain that the diamond dragon was female; maybe the voice simply sounded feminine in her head.

"It involves going on a small journey, though," Hyozanryu continued.

Jess looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "After revealing that there's another person living inside me, coming to this world, realizing that there are holograms to make duel monsters more realistic, and talking to a dragon, I think I can handle it."

She thought she heard laughter in her mind. "You do have a point," the dragon conceded. "But we still need to be careful"- her message ended abruptly. Jess wondered what was going on, and turned in the direction of Hyozanryu's gaze.

The sight that met her would normally have her laugh at its- well, utter lameness. At that moment, standing in the creepy graveyard, it suddenly wasn't so funny. What appeared to be the grim reaper was floating toward them, complete with creepy black cloak and scythe. Jess gulped a little, finding the sight to be rather… unpleasant.

Hyozanryu reared back, and roared. Jess yelled in pain, covering her ears at the sound. The thing stopped abruptly, frozen by the dragon's challenge.

"You will not be taking this soul today, Reaper," said Hyozanryu. Jess heard the dangerous tone in her dragon's 'voice'. "Return to the foul pit from whence you came!"

Her mouth opened, and the white flash erupted out of it, completely engulfing the Reaper in its power. There was nothing left of the monstrosity by the time Hyozanryu was finished with it.

"Umm… what was that?" Jess asked.

"The Reaper of Souls," said the dragon. "It comes to claim anyone it deems an intruder in the graveyard. Since you have never been here before, it came to get you. Be glad you didn't come here alone."

"That's something else I don't get," murmured Jess. "How come I didn't… you know… _become_ you? I just happened to be next to you."

"It's not important," she replied, but Jess could tell she was hiding something. "Now come; there's something we need to discuss."

* * *

Clea felt the shock course through her as Jess and Hyozanryu both burst at the same time. There was just no way Jess could be gone; she had to be there. She had to still be there!

"Jess, no!" cried Yugi, his violet eyes wide with shock. Jonouchi and Honda instantly began to blame themselves for this, which Clea found oddly annoying. As if they could've stopped Jess from making this decision.

She felt her own calm nature take over again, and she thought more radically. The duel was still occurring; there was still a chance that Jess could return. It was true that the spirit had already used Monster Reborn once, on Honda, but she was certain that there was another way for Jess to come back. There almost always was.

She did not voice any opinions she had, however; she knew that the spirit did not trust her. She could hardly blame him, after all those times she had taken over for Jess just to say something to someone.

Clea brought her focus back to the playing field, feeling slightly self-conscious. She could feel the spirit looking at her, probably in disapproval. She raised her head and met his narrowed eyes, not allowing herself to show any kind of fear. Why she chose to do this, she wasn't sure; maybe it had something to do with her past.

"Well, that was unexpected," said the spirit of the ring, chuckling a little. "Such a valiant effort on Jess's part- and such a waste, too."

"That remains to be seen," Clea retorted. "As far as I can see, this duel is not over."

"Jess- I mean, Clea's got a point," said Honda, looking around at his friends. "We've got to keep fighting, especially if it means getting Jess back."

"It may not be over, but it might as well be!" snarled Bakura.

Clea closed her eyes. She knew- she just _knew-_ that Jess was still there, somewhere. She steadied her breathing, completely halting her emotions, and allowing her thoughts to slip away. The noises from the duel receded, until she could hear nothing but absolute silence.

She opened them again, unsurprised to find herself on her feet now. She still wore the same attire that Jess wore- but then, that was no surprise to her either. She stood on a spot of dirt, with paths stretching away from it in all directions. Those paths branched out too, leading to hidden corners and traces of her confused mind.

If Jess was anywhere, it would be here. Clea was connected to the girl, and knew she'd be able to find her. Jess had told her the concept of siblings, but try as she might, she just couldn't quite understand it. Her host didn't seem to mind at all, stating that Clea would be her older sister.

Focusing on their sibling bond, she felt a slight tug in the corner of her mind. Unbeknownst to her, her feet began to move off to the right, down that pathway. Where there weren't pathways, there were enormous dark trees. Clea was almost certain that, if she ever strayed off the paths, she would get lost in the forest. She wondered if that meant she was going insane.

Sighing to herself, she set off through the tangled mess that was her thoughts, realizing that this was the first time she'd come here without the intention of trying to find out exactly who she was.

* * *

"So, what do we have to do?" asked Jess, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. She wanted to get going, to find a way to get out of this creepy place. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched here.

Blue eyes studied her curiously for a few moments before Hyozanryu finally answered. "The Place of Death- or, as you call it, the card graveyard- is a world all on its own. It barely ever converges with the Monster Spirit World, or Naroova. But when it does, it always happens through another world."

It didn't take long for Jess to figure out what world that was. "The Shadow Realm," she breathed.

Hyozanryu nodded. "Indeed. The realm of shadows is where all worlds converge- it is connected to each of them. So, when it comes into direct contact with one world"-

"Then other worlds can contact that same world as well," Jess finished.

"In this case, through the shadow game, the Place of Death and your world are connected. Therefore, there is still a way to connect with the world of Reality- through the mind of the spirit, Clea."

Jess looked at Hyozanryu doubtfully. "Right," she said sarcastically, "My imaginary friend is our only hope out of here."

"This is serious," the dragon said, still calm. "You have a bond with her. You can contact her- and tell her the way for us to return."

Jess's head shot up, meeting the diamond dragon's eyes. She frowned slightly at her. "And just what way is that?"

"The Magician of Faith."

"Anzu?" said Jess, unable to hold back her surprise. Then she felt as though a light bulb flared over her head. "Of course!" she exclaimed, realizing what Hyozanryu was saying. "Her special ability would allow the spirit to reuse a magic card- namely Monster Reborn."

"Correct," Hyozanryu replied, dipping her head. "The spirit, however, is currently unaware of this. That is why you need to get a message to Clea, somehow, so that she can tell him."

Jess felt a kind of dark humor rise up in her, as well as doubt, at those words. "I've seen the way he looks at Clea," she said, scowling. "He definitely does not trust her, and probably wishes she didn't exist. How do you know that he'll even believe what she tells him?"

"I don't."

"That's reassuring," Jess muttered.

"There are no other options," Hyozanryu warned her.

Jess pressed her knuckles into her eyes, exasperated. "I guess we don't have much choice, do we?"

The white dragon sent a message of agreement, before pressing its neck into the ground.

Jess raised an eyebrow, mouth open in a silent question.

"Normally, I wouldn't let anyone ride me; now is an exception," said Hyozanryu.

Trying to ignore the complete weirdness of the situation, Jess clambered up onto Hyozanryu's neck. The dragon straightened upward, and for a moment she thought she would be a little sick from the sudden lift.

Hyozanryu's wings snapped open, and she pushed herself off. Jess almost yelped as the ground got smaller; the lurch she felt each time the diamond dragon beat her wings made her dinner roll around big time. Hyozanryu circled around the spot they'd just been standing, before sending her a question.

"Where is Clea?"

"How should I know?" growled Jess, but she tried to focus on her friend's presence anyway. She just needed to find her, somehow or other. Suddenly, she felt a slight tugging at the back of her mind, and somehow she just knew.

"That way," she said, not pointing. However, Hyozanryu understood the direction she was indicating. Jess felt the air rushing past as they sped in Clea's direction. The grim landscape flashed past, and she realized just how much she wanted to escape from the Place of Death.

* * *

The sudden familiarity shocked her; Clea nearly tripped over herself. It was all she could do to keep herself from pitching face first into the dirt below. There was… someone there, behind that tree to the left. She felt attached to whoever they were, like they were attracting her presence.

Slowly, afraid that the presence would vanish again, she edged forward. One sneaker in front of the other, until she found herself watching something akin to those 'movies' that Jess had told her about.

Before her was a young girl, perhaps a few years below her own age. The girl had dark eyes and a tan, but the most unique thing about her was her flaming red hair. It streamed down her back, almost like a river of lava. She wore a cream colored dress, simple yet elegant.

The girl was kneeling in front of a little boy, with a mess of dark brown hair. His eyes were a bright blue, and he squealed in delight as the girl tickled him. Clea couldn't help but smile at the obvious happiness in the child's face.

"Come on, now, Jery," the redhead said encouragingly. "You have to get cleaned up for your sister's coronation."

Jery's face quickly scrunched up into a scowl. "Don't want to," he pouted. He made a cute face at the girl. "Please, Alaina?"

The girl- Alaina- shook her head firmly. "Nope. You need to look nice today."

He looked down at the ground, still frowning at the unfairness. "Did my big sis have to get cleaned up?"

"Yes, she did," said Alaina, smiling at him. "A lot more than you."

Jery looked up, his eyes shining again. "Really?" he said, looking gleeful.

"Really," came a voice from off to the side. Clea turned her head to get a look at the newcomer- and gasped.

It was none other than a younger version of herself. There were almost no differences, except that her skin was tan and her hair fell down to her waist, rather than stopping at her shoulders. Clea noticed other similarities, too; she realized that they both carried themselves the exact same way, and had the same piercing stare.

"Sister!" Jery yelled, sprinting over to her younger self. He threw himself into her arms, and she chuckled, lifting him up. Clea noticed that she was wearing a dress similar to Alaina's, except that there was a golden collar on hers. The girl also had a circlet resting on her head.

Clea realized that her younger self had hair that matched Jery's in color. _That would certainly explain the fact that they're siblings,_ she thought.

The girl put her brother back down on the ground, before looking over at Alaina. "This is it," she said to her.

Alaina nodded. "Are you ready, mistress?" she asked.

Mistress? But Clea would never, ever force anyone to call her that.

Apparently, her younger self agreed with that, for a scowl appeared on her face. "Enough of that, Alaina," she said. "Please, call me by my name."

Just as Alaina opened her mouth to say it, and Clea held her breath in anticipation… the image dissolved away. Clea suddenly felt alone, and reached out a hand where the scene had been playing out, but there was nothing but darkness and trees. Then she remembered her mission, and swiveled on her heel to continue to her destination- trying to ignore the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

* * *

Jess hugged herself, shivering slightly. Hyozanryu must've sensed her discomfort.

"What is it?"

"I don't know…" she whispered. "I think it came from Clea. She's just… so sad, all of a sudden."

"You can sense her emotions." It was not a question.

"Yes," responded Jess. "I think that means we're getting close."

She scanned the ground, far below, for a sign of their destination. It would help greatly if she actually knew what to look for, but she had no clue.

"Relax," said Hyozanryu. "You will know it when the time comes."

And she did- she saw a flash of something on the ground. Clea's presence flared like a beacon. She didn't need to tell the location to Hyozanryu- the dragon had gotten the message from her mind.

The dive was terrifying and exhilarating. The wind whipped her face mercilessly, and she felt fear flutter in her. Jess had never felt more relieved when she was able to collapse back onto solid ground.

She sighed, hugging the earth and the stability that came with it for a few moments. Then she straightened once again, realizing that they had landed beside a small pool of water. She couldn't quite tell how deep it was, and for some reason that bothered her.

She stared for a few moments at her reflection, then started when she realized it wasn't her she was looking at.

"Clea!" she exclaimed. Her reflection's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise.

"Jess," she said, the picture of calm, as always. "Are you alright?"

"Just dandy," Jess replied sarcastically. Hyozanryu shot her a look, and Jess silently agreed, albeit in an exasperated way. Right then was not the time to be immature.

"Okay, so here's the deal: you have to tell the spirit to activate the effect of the Magician of Faith, a.k.a. Anzu. That'll allow him to bring back a magic card, namely Monster Reborn. Got it?"

Clea looked faintly surprised at the abruptness of Jess's instructions, but nodded anyway. "All right; we'll get you out of there soon." The image in the water distorted slightly, and Jess quickly realized she was looking at her own reflection again. She was a little shocked at how abrupt their meeting had been, but there would be plenty of time for discussion later.

"And now we wait," murmured Hyozanryu.

* * *

The return to her- or rather, Jess's- body was easy. After a few moments, distilled voices formed around her, and Clea opened her eyes again. She realized that almost no time had passed since she had gone on her little trip, but it had felt like it took an hour. She was still kneeling next to the spirit, and looking over at him, she saw that his mouth had opened to say something.

It didn't take her long to realize that he was planning to end his turn, and she knew that she could not, under any circumstances, let it happen. Without really thinking about it, she slapped a hand over his mouth.

His eyes widened slightly, before narrowing in a glare at her. She held his gaze, letting her hand fall back to her side; he would let her speak, at least.

"There's a way… to get Jess back," she said slowly. Below them, Jonouchi and Honda cheered. The spirit's eyes nodded in suspicion, but he nodded for her to continue.

"Anzu's effect…" she said.

Yugi gasped. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "The Magician of Faith's special ability is to reuse a magic card!"

Bakura scowled at that. "Isn't that convenient…" he muttered.

The spirit didn't hesitate, much to Clea's relief. At the very least, he trusted Jess- even if he didn't trust her. A moment later, Jess popped back onto the field, due to Monster Reborn. Hyozanryu was at her side, like before.

Clea realized that she'd been holding her fists clenched, and relaxed them. She sent a reassuring flicker of a smile to Jess.

_Don't worry; I'm certain that the spirit has a plan._

Do you really believe that? asked Jess.

_I wouldn't say that if I didn't._

Whatever; I'm not quite as confident in his skills. He barely made it out of that duel with Weevil.

_Your reluctance in accepting him is similar to the way he treats me. _

…Oh. Well… I can't help it! He treats you like dirt.

_In case you haven't noticed, I'm perfectly all right with that._

Sure you are. Clea felt Jess break off their conversation, paying attention to the duel once more. Suddenly, however, Jess asked her another question.

What made you so sad earlier?

Clea hesitated at first, then told Jess of the vision she'd had, of her supposed family. She felt the ache for them again, for friends and a brother she'd never known.

I'm sorry… I know what that's like, believe me.

_Oh, I believe you, but it's still hard. I just wish the vision had continued long enough for me to find out my name. But in the end, I lost that too. _

In the end, Clea's prediction turned out to be correct; the spirit managed to send the evil presence from the ring to the card graveyard- and based on what Jess had told her about the place, he was not going to enjoy himself there.

She opened her mouth to congratulate the spirit on his victory, but before she could, everything went black.

* * *

Jess noticed, almost at once, that she had a killer headache. Groaning, she sat up, realizing that she was back in her own body.

_Booyah!_ she thought, grinning to herself. The ache still made her wince slightly, however, and she found herself looking around for a certain dragon. Hyozanryu, however, was gone, and Jess felt a pang- she'd found a friend in the stern creature.

_A shame; I would have liked to meet her._

Jess ignored Clea's comment for now, looking around the camp. The others were just beginning to awaken, blinking as though they'd just woken up from a long sleep. Bakura was still slumped near the tree trunk, and Jess wondered if he would be okay.

Do they remember? she asked, watching as Yugi stirred.

_No; I protected us from the wiping of our memories, but all others were affected, including the spirit._

So he doesn't know about you anymore.

_I have a feeling that will soon change._

He'll hate you even more for it, when he finds out.

There was silence at first, and then Jess heard a resigned, _I know._


	8. Chapter 8: Stay Awake

Jess was not in the best of moods.

There were several factors contributing to this. For one thing, the moment they'd returned from the Shadow Realm, Mai's scream had rang out through the forest. Of course, they had to go see what was wrong, the result of which was a duel against Panik, the eliminator. The spirit had dueled in Yugi's place, managing to outwit and frighten the eliminator with ease. That hadn't been the problem; what had been the problem was Clea taking over halfway through and delivering a speech which completely creeped Panik out, as well as making the spirit suspicious again.

Now they were standing on one of the many cliffs that sat on the edge of the island. Though Jess thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scene of the stars reflected on the ocean water, she was exhausted; they still hadn't gotten much sleep. The others were able to catch some z's, but she just couldn't close her eyes for more than five minutes.

This tournament has been a little too dangerous for my taste.

_That is most likely Pegasus' aim,_ said Clea. Jess groaned, holding her head in her hands. If only she could get a little rest, maybe she wouldn't be so doom and gloom. She ran her hands through her dark hair again, still unused to how slippery it was because of the straightness. At times she almost came to like it; at others, however, she couldn't stand it.

"Can't sleep?"

She jumped a little, and then relaxed when Yugi sat next to her, looking at her with concern. "You've got bags under your eyes," he commented.

Jess let out a tired laugh. "Doesn't surprise me," she answered. Considering how she felt right about now, she probably looked horrible. Yugi didn't look all that sleepy, though there were circles underneath his violet eyes as well. She noticed that his hand was placed in his pocket.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" she asked him. Goodness knows she certainly was.

"A little," he admitted, sounding nervous. He hesitated before continuing. "It's just… everything's riding on this one tournament."

"I know," she replied. "It's a lot of pressure." She gently placed her right hand over his left. "But we'll get through it," she pledged, determined to make good on her word. "You can count on that."

* * *

If there was one thing that Seto Kaiba was known for, it was punctuality. Even if he didn't have a schedule written down, he still arrived at what he considered to be 'on time'. In this case, on time meant getting to Duelist Kingdom as fast as possible, in order to rescue Mokuba from the clutches of Pegasus.

As he neared the island, he prepared to land the helicopter atop a rather steep cliff, which overlooked the sea. He realized that there were several duelists camping there for the night; two of them were standing up, staring directly at him.

He recognized both; Yugi was easier, especially with the spiky hairstyle of his. The other, however, was a little more difficult to identify, but he quickly realized that it was the same girl who had supported Mokuba while Yugi dueled his doppelganger.

The chopper touched down, its blades blowing the hair out of the two's faces. He jumped out, swinging his metal briefcase down with him. While Yugi looked on with slight surprise on his face, the girl raised a wry eyebrow.

"A helicopter," she commented. "Charming. Wouldn't have killed you to use a boat, would you?" She appraised him coolly, clearly not all that impressed.

"Jess," hissed Yugi, "That's Seto Kaiba." When she continued to look clueless, he added, "Mokuba's brother!"

"Really?" she said, genuine surprise now appearing on her face. She scrutinized him once again. "I can't exactly see the family resemblance." She yawned slightly, waving both him and Yugi away. "I'm going to bed. All this excitement"- she said the word with an impressive amount of sarcasm- "is making me exhausted."

Seto Kaiba gritted his teeth. She was purposefully trying to demean him. He shook the thought out of his head- he needed to focus on what he came for.

"If you don't mind," he said to Yugi, "I have somewhere to be." He began to stride away, up towards the castle that was his destination.

"Hold on, Kaiba!" said Yugi, taking a step after him. "You shouldn't be reckless. We could help you."

"I don't need help from you dweebs."

This, of course, caused Jonouchi, who had been watching from the sidelines after waking up, to become furious. Kaiba noticed that they were all awake now, and that the other girl had paused in heading for the tent and was looking back at the scene, eyes alight with curiosity.

He quickly became exasperated by the dueling monkey's attempts to provoke him, but decided to accept his challenge anyway. He threw the duel disk to his opponent, ignoring Jess's unusually optimistic comment.

"Aw, man! I wanted to try one of those things…"

* * *

Jess watched the duel proceed with great interest. Still, she felt herself wince every time Kaiba cut down one of Jonouchi's monsters. She stayed oddly quiet for the most part, knowing that this was one duel that her friend couldn't win.

Her opinion of Kaiba himself quickly sank even lower than before. He didn't overly infuriate her, but she disliked how relentless he was in his attacks, and how he used much more force than was necessary to be victorious. To her, he was just showing off, all the while undermining Jonouchi's confidence.

She suddenly sensed Clea's spirit 'standing' beside her, regarding the duel with curiosity, as well as confusion.

_He seems familiar._

Why would he be? He's just a CEO with an ego that needs polishing five times a day.

_Familiar in the same way that I almost recognize the spirit of the puzzle._

Oh. Well, I don't like him.

_Nor do I._

Jess was slightly surprised. Clea had never before had an incentive to dislike someone; in fact, she seemed to have a generous opinion of everyone she and Jess knew. Jess and Clea often discussed her friends. So far, Jess had gleaned quite a lot about Clea's thoughts.

She thought that, while Yugi could be innocent and naïve at times, he was also sensible in regard to solving a problem.

She considered the spirit to be calm and calculating, as well as being able to read people well. However, she thought that he didn't need to assert his control in situations so much.

She thought that Jonouchi was incredibly strong-willed, even though this sometimes made him rush into things without thinking.

Her opinion was that Anzu was the voice of reason in the group, who always pulled the boys away from idle distractions.

She thought Honda and Jonouchi were like twin brothers, though Honda could be more reasonable than the latter.

Jess hadn't yet gotten Clea's opinion of Bakura, as he had only started to stick with them recently. Overall, she got the feeling that Clea thought Bakura was a seemingly innocent boy who was actually a lot more intelligent than he first looked.

Apart from that… Jess realized that she really didn't know that much about Clea. Her likes, her dislikes, anything like that. One of these days, when this tournament was over, she'd have to teach her spirit friend more about culture. A picture came into her mind of Clea loitering in an alley, wearing a baggy hoodie and having I-pod headphones in her ears…

It was too much. She burst out laughing. Clea, picking up on her train of thought, smiled slightly.

Everyone else merely stared at her, including the two that were dueling. She coughed slightly, still grinning hugely.

"Ignore me," she called. "Please, continue with the duel."

Kaiba merely arched an eyebrow before looking away, but Jonouchi returned her grin. She gave a quick thumbs-up, feeling a little guilty that the reason she was grinning was not because of him.

The rest of the duel passed painfully for her usually enthusiastic blond friend. Despite being able to summon his best monster, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Kaiba countered easily.

Her eyes had widened when she saw the card- Blue-Eyes White Dragon, a card that she herself had in her deck. She then remembered that his imposter had played the same card twice.

Well, I only have the one card.

_I believe he has three_, said Clea. _Most likely he is knowledgeable as to how to use them too. _

"Jonouchi!" she yelled, when her friend fell to the ground, looking more miserable than she had ever seen him. She watched in shock while Kaiba smirked contemptuously, and continued to demean his opponent. Jess felt a snarl of rage slide onto her face as Kaiba continued, again and again, to slice through Jonouchi's confidence.

And then he simply left. Jess decided that she couldn't hold back anymore; she sprinted after him.

"Oi!" she yelled, causing him to once again turn his head. As she opened her mouth to speak, she began talking- but the words were not the ones that she intended.

What do you think you're doing?

_Trust me. He has a weakness._

Meanwhile, what was emerging from her mouth was, "You continue to destroy Jonouchi's confidence… to what end?"

He stared at her for a long time. At last, coldly, he replied, "That dog needed to be taught a lesson."

"Ah," she said softly. "I see. The same lesson that you were taught as well?" Kaiba said nothing, merely narrowing his eyes slightly. Jess was now observing from the sidelines, marveling once again at Clea's insightful comments. "You were told the same thing over and over again in your life, once: that you are nothing. Despite the fact that you once aspired to be something- _someone_ important. Yet whoever said that to you took that hope away, crushing it and disposing of it as though it were something dirty. You see that same hope in Jonouchi, and you were unable to bear the fact that he could believe, while you could not."

Still, Kaiba remained silent, his gaze hardened and unemotional. Jess regained control over her limbs, taking a few moments to readjust to the point of view. The CEO merely turned and continued walking.

That didn't even faze him!

_Yes it did_, said Clea, regarding him with something akin to pity on her face. _He's just in the habit of never showing it._

She swiveled around to where her friends were packing up, preparing to move out for the second day of the tournament. Jess sighed, rubbing her eyes as a wave of exhaustion ran over her. If she didn't find some way to rest soon, she'd be running on slap-happiness the rest of the day. The duel had livened her up for a short while, but now…

Now she felt like a cat dumped in a trash can.

"Hey, Jess!" called Yugi, beckoning her over. She came, feeling like she walking on legs of lead. "We're going to head out, maybe find some more duels."

Jess nodded, trying her best to ignore the fact that she wouldn't be of much use to them like this. Trying to keep from staggering, she strode over to where the others were packing up any sleep ware. She silently thanked Honda for his backpack full of survival tools; while she herself wouldn't have minded (she had been homeless for a week before meeting them all), the others would have complained about it to no end.

Mai had left awhile ago, going her separate way after Yugi's duel with Panik. Jess had surprised herself by actually feeling a little nostalgic; she'd begun to like Mai's wry, humorous comments on how Jonouchi and Honda were like a bunch of gorillas. She found herself following at the back of the pack again, content to listen to the others chat.

Besides, it wasn't as though she didn't have anyone to talk to.

_May I… ask you a question?_ said Clea. Jess was intrigued by her tone; for the first time, she sounded hesitant.

Sure, what's up?

_Before… in the duel against Bakura, you said that it was shame that I couldn't learn to live like a 'normal teenager'. Could you, perhaps, give me some advice?_

Jess blinked several times, the request taking her by surprise. She agreed nonetheless.

Well, the first thing you need to know is that the best way to fit in is to just be yourself. Sure, people might think that the way you talk is a little odd- maybe a tad too formal, but most likely they won't hate you for it. They might tease you about it, just a little bit, but don't be offended- they'll just be joking around.

She went on to explain everything she could think of- the typical teenage stereotypes, soda fountains, fast-food restaurants, stores, shopping, cars, how money was used, and countless other topics that Clea paid great attention to, listening and making the occasional question. They were interrupted from their silent discussion by Anzu.

"Hey Jess," she said brightly, dropping back. "You're kind of quiet; is everything all right?"

Jess jumped slightly, turning back to Anzu with a small smile. "Sure, everything's fine, Anzu," she replied, mentally telling Clea that they could continue their conversation later.

"Okay." Anzu didn't make a move to return back to the group, frowning in disapproval at Jonouchi and Honda. Jess smirked at their antics, remembering a few of her old friends back in her world. Her reminiscing ended when Anzu spoke again.

"I have an… odd question," she said. When Jess looked back over at her, she added quickly, "Just… don't call me crazy when I ask you."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," was her reply.

"Well," began Anzu hesitantly, "I… had this crazy dream last night."

Jess tensed. Was she talking about…?

"I thought Yugi was dueling Bakura in the Shadow Realm, but it wasn't Yugi for some reason, and there were two of you as well, Jess. We won, but barely… and then when I woke up, everyone else was just getting up too. Am I going insane?"

Jess hesitated to answer. She didn't want to reveal anything about Clea unless she was forced to, and yet… the concern in Anzu's eyes was genuine. She just wanted to know what was going on; did she really have any right to keep it from her?

"Okay, it really did happen," admitted Jess. Anzu's eyes widened, but before she could say more, Jess lifted a hand. "I have an alter-ego named Clea, who's been living in me ever since I came to this world. No, I don't know where she came from. Yes, Yugi has an alter-ego too, though either he doesn't have a name or I don't know it yet."

Anzu nodded, and Jess sighed with relief. Her opinion of the girl had just risen greatly; clearly, she was trustworthy and didn't judge people.

"So, all those times you were suddenly acting a lot… I don't know… more contemplative, that was really Clea?" A frown suddenly appeared on her face. "She doesn't duel for you, does she?"

"No," replied Jess firmly. "In fact, most of the time I try not to let her take control. She is my friend, and I think she's in more danger if people know about her." Despite her feelings of nervousness about telling Anzu, she chuckled. "She doesn't like it at all."

"What about Yugi?"

"I think that the spirit does duel for him," said Jess, quieting a little. "But don't judge him about that. If you ask me, the spirit helps him in more ways than one- he's given him a confidence that I doubt he ever would've found before." She turned away from Anzu for a moment.

"I see," she murmured. "Don't worry," she added, smiling. "I won't tell about Clea."

"Thanks," replied Jess, smiling in relief. The truth was, she had wanted to tell somebody for a long time, but was afraid that they would think she was delusional, not to mention that she feared losing their trust when they found out. However, now she had Anzu to vouch for her, which would hopefully convince the others that neither she nor Clea meant them any harm.

"Well, you and Yugi are going to have your work cut out for you," stated Anzu wryly. "Remember what Kaiba said about Pegasus? About not underestimating him, because of what happened to Bandit Keith?"

"Yeah, about that… we already know that Pegasus can read minds."

Anzu blanched at that, but Jess barely noticed. She glared up at the castle where the man she despised waited, probably watching them through hidden cameras with amusement and enjoying seeing the drama unfold around him. Her fists clenched in anger.

"One way or another, he's going down," she muttered sourly.

Anzu stared for another moment or two, before shrugging and moving to catch up to the rest. Jess jolted herself, sighing when she realized that she was completely and utterly exhausted. She needed a nap, and badly, but there was work to do. She couldn't afford to be sleeping while Yugi's grandfather was in danger.

_And there are questions that need answering, _reminded Clea.

Did Pegasus really know who, or what, she was? It was something that had been bugging her for some time now. Jess wanted answers. She wanted to know if there was even the slightest chance that she could go home. If not… she didn't want to think about that. She had to concentrate on the task at hand.

She picked up her pace, hoping to rejoin the others before they got too far ahead of her.

* * *

Author's note: It's been almost a year since I updated this. I just get too distracted sometimes. Oh well. I'm glad I posted this, though; I'm getting back to my regular, in progress fics, which I have about six going right now. That should keep me with plenty of variety, so that I don't get bored writing it. Reviews are appreciated!


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